Remembering the Past: A Marauder's Tale
by silvermoony77
Summary: This is a tale of magic and adventure, love and hurt, friendship and betrayal, life and death. This is a tale of an earlier time, when a dark force was rising for the first time and leaving the world unsure of where to begin. Full summary inside, enjoy!
1. Prologue

_Full summary: This is a tale of magic and adventure, love and hurt, friendship and betrayal, life and death. This is a tale of an earlier time, when a dark force was rising for the first time and leaving the world unsure of where to begin. This isn't just a story about growing up, it's the beginning of a legacy that will change the world._

_Alana Tortelli and her sister Elizabeth are at their final year of Hogwarts and emotions are running high. Besides the inevitable coming of a war with someone who calls himself the Dark Lord, the sisters find themselves falling in love. With the help of their friends Lily Evans, Alice Lenns, Frank Longbottom, and the infamous Marauders, they must survive their last year together at the castle. But can they stick by each other in their time of need? Or will it all ultimately end in tragedy? Join these friends on the journey of a lifetime as they try to survive in a world that's slowly turning dark._

_Author's Note: Everything you recognize I don't own. Everything you don't came from the inner workings of my mind. Frightening, I know. It's rated T for some language and what happens at the end. You'll see why...Enjoy!_

Prologue

"How the bloody hell do we get to Platform 9 ¾?" said Alana Tortelli in frustration.

"Alana! Watch your language, young lady!" said her mother.

Alana, her twin sister Elizabeth, and their mother were trying to figure out how to get on the train. Luckily, they arrived a half an hour early but even still, the train left in ten minutes. Standing with them was another Hogwarts student, Lily Evans, with her mother. They had no idea how to get onto the Platform either.

"Excuse me? Do you need to know how to get to the Hogwarts Express?" said a girl. She had long auburn hair that was pulled up into a messy bun. She was with her father, who had the same color hair.

"Yes," said Mrs. Evans relieved, "Could you show us?"

"Sure, just walk straight at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. Follow us," she said.

They followed the girl and her father, running at the wall. Alana gripped her sister's hand tightly but they didn't collide with anything solid. Once they all made it through, they saw the bright red train that read "Hogwarts Express". Mrs. Evans and her daughter shared a tearful good-bye and each promised to write at least once a week. The Tortelli farewell was not as warm.

"Bye Mum," said Alana coolly, "We'll see you over Christmas break then?"

"Your father and I will be away, don't you remember?" Mrs. Tortelli snapped impatiently, "We've told you a thousand times that we're spending Christmas in the Caribbean!"

"Of course," said Alana sarcastically as she rolled her eyes, "How _could_ have I forgotten you'll be away yet again for the holidays?"

"Don't get fresh with me young lady!"

"Good-bye Mother," said Elizabeth quickly before her twin could retaliate, "We'll write to you as soon as we're settled."

"Ugh, don't use those disgusting owls," Mrs. Tortelli said with a shiver, "They'll ruin our new carpeting!"

"But that's the only way we can write."

"Then just don't write at all. You can tell us everything during the summer holiday."

"I thought you were going to Barcelona for the summer?" Alana asked in a mock sweet tone.

Mrs. Tortelli didn't answer and left without actually saying good-bye. Lily and the other girl pretended to be in deep conversation so as not to be rude but the twins knew they heard everything. The four girls walked into an available compartment and got settled.

"I'm Elizabeth Tortelli by the way, but you can call me Liz. This is my twin sister Alana."

"Call me Al," Alana said with a wave.

"And I'm Lily Evans, I don't have a cool nickname but feel free to give me one!"

"Thanks, I'm Alice Lenns but some people just call me Aly. Let me guess, you all are first years?" They all nodded and she smiled, "Same with me."

"But how did you know about the platform?" Liz asked with her head cocked to the side.

"My parents told me," said Alice, "They went to Hogwarts as well. In fact, my whole family has gone there."

"Wow, you're lucky!" said Lily.

"Yeah, the closest our parents get to magic is being able to make dinner without burning the house down," said Alana, "As you could tell, they don't stick around much. But come on, let's find a compartment before they all fill up!"

So they started to get to know each other as the minutes ticked by until they would be leaving the station.

…...

Remus Lupin was walking with his parents toward the train.

"Now Remus, you know how much Dumbledore went through to get you here, so be good," said Mr. Lupin.

"I know Dad, I'll be good," said Remus.

"Be sure to write a lot, especially after it's over," said Mrs. Lupin, looking around for eavesdroppers.

"I promise," he said, smiling at his mother's carefulness.

He hugged his parents, his mother hugging him for a few minutes, and went to find a compartment. He sat near the window, watched his parents go back through the barrier, and fell asleep before he realized he was tired.

…...

"Dad, Mum, come on!" called James Potter.

"Coming…James," huffed his mother.

James turned around and waited for his parents, who were on the elderly side and had a hard time keeping up with their eleven-year-old son. Then, together, they went through the barrier.

"Now James, be good and don't get into any trouble," said Mrs. Potter.

"Just be sure not to get caught," said Mr. Potter.

Mrs. Potter gave her husband a look and then turned to James. "I want you to write once you get settled in, understand?" said Mrs. Potter.

"Got it," said James.

Mr. Potter helped lift James' trunk onto the train and James set out for a compartment. The only compartment that was not completely full had a sleeping sandy-haired boy who was extremely pale. As James tried to put his trunk up silently, it crashed with deafeningly loud _BANG _against the metal bars and the boy woke up.

"Oh, er, hello. Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Can I sit here?" asked James awkwardly.

"Of course," the boy said, stretching as he rubbed his tired eyes, "I'm Remus Lupin."

"James Potter."

…...

Sirius Black was walking next to his mother, ignoring her complaining of all the Muggles. Then he heard a girl shout.

"How the bloody hell do we get to Platform 9 ¾?"

"See what I mean Sirius!" said Mrs. Black. "These Mudbloods don't even know how to get on the train!"

"Mmhm," said Sirius distractedly. He was too busy looking for the girl who had just spoken. Unfortunately, the platforms were crowded that time of day, so he gave up and kept walking. After a hasty good-bye and a forced kiss, Sirius got on the train.

_Urgh… I think I'm gonna be sick,_ he thought as he wiped his lips with a look of disgust. Suddenly, he saw his cousins, Bellatrix and Narcissa, and ran into the nearest compartment.

"Um, hi," said Sirius, closing the door behind him, "Can I sit here? I'm trying to hide from my family."

"Sure," said a jet-black haired boy, "I'm James Potter."

"And I'm Remus Lupin," said a pale, sandy haired boy.

"Thanks," he said with relief, "I'm Sirius Black."

"Why are you running from your family?" Remus asked with a frown.

"It's a very long and complicated story," said Sirius darkly and the other boys nodded. James quickly changed the subject and the boys talked animatedly.

…...

"Peter, hurry up. You're going to miss the train."

"Coming Mum," said Peter Pettigrew.

His mother stopped and gave her son a quick kiss on the forehead. "Peter, good luck and have fun," said Mrs. Pettigrew, smoothing her son's hair.

"I will Mum," said Peter.

Their good-byes were shortened by the whistle sounding. Peter got his trunk onto the train and went to find a compartment. He and a boy named Frank Longbottom joined the compartment with James, Remus, and Sirius in it. After introductions, the boys started playing a game of Exploding Snap as the train pulled out of the station.

After three games, in which Peter won all, James stood up and said, "We should change into our robes soon."

He stretched and as he was opening the door, the train lurched and Lily, Alana, Elizabeth, and Alice, who had just finished changing into their robes, fell in. James managed to keep his balance and caught Lily before she hit the floor; Alana fell into the seats and landed on Sirius, grabbing his neck to keep herself from falling; Elizabeth grabbed anything in reach, which happened to be Remus' shirt, and dragged him on top of her as she went down; Alice tripped over Peter, who was on the floor, and landed in the seat next to Frank.

"Hi, how are ya?" said James.

"Okay. Thank you," said Lily.

"No problem," said James, smiling, "I've always wanted to help a damsel in distress."

Lily looked highly affronted and quickly detached herself from James, fixing her robes huffily as James stared in wonder.

"Well, hello there," said Sirius.

"Hi," said Alana. She realized where she was and started to get up.

"You don't need to move," Sirius said with a wink. Alana just raised her eyebrows at him and continued to get up.

"Hello," said Remus.

"Hi," said Elizabeth, breathlessly.

They just stared at each other for a few seconds then, realizing she was still holding his shirt, Elizabeth let go and blushed. Remus helped her up.

"Hey," said Frank.

Alice smiled, not saying anything as she stared at her clasped hands.

"Well," Sirius said, "Now that we're all detached," At this he looked at Remus and Elizabeth, who both blushed, "I'm Sirius Black, that's James Potter, Frank Longbottom, the one on the floor is Peter Pettigrew, and lover boy over there is Remus Lupin."

"Nice to meet you all. I'm Alana Tortelli, that's Lily Evans, Alice Lenns, and that's my sister Elizabeth."

Alana watched with amusement as the boys did double takes. She was used to people doing that. She and Liz were identical in practically every physical way.

"Which of you is older?" Peter asked curiously.

"I am," said Alana proudly while Elizabeth snorted.

"Please, only by four minutes and thirty-seven seconds," Elizabeth said, "It's not _that_ much older."

"It's enough that I've got to look out for you," said Alana, patting her sister on the head.

Alana and the other girls helped clean up the compartment. As Alana turned to leave, Sirius grabbed her hand.

"Good-bye," he said, kissing her hand.

The girls behind her giggled but Alana just smiled slightly and left. Sirius then turned to Remus.

"Well, well Mr. Lupin. It seems we didn't realize how much you attracted the ladies; you animal, you."

"Oh, shut up," said Remus jokingly, but inside, his stomach did a summersault and the mention of "animal".

"Just saying," said Sirius, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hey guys, is James okay?" asked Frank.

James was staring off where the girls left. He seemed to be lost in thought.

"James? James! Heloooo?" Remus tried snapping his fingers. It worked and James jumped slightly.

"What?" James asked distractedly.

"Where were you, Mars? We were talking to you," said Peter.

"I think someone's in love with a certain red-headed witch," said Sirius.

"Am not! Maybe…oh I don't know!" exclaimed James. "She's just so…so…"

"Perfect?" supplied Peter.

"Yeah…perfect," sighed James.

They boys nodded and gathered their robes to change into. Sirius grabbed James for him and had to practically drag the boy out of the compartment and towards the bathrooms at the back of the train. Each boy was thinking the same thing: Hogwarts was going to be one hell of a fun ride.

…...

"Did you see his eyes? Oh my Merlin they were gorgeous! I can't believe I didn't say anything when he said hi! He must think I'm such a weirdo. I bet he thought I was being cold. Do you think that's what he was thinking? I bet it was. Oh Merlin, I'm such a-"

"Alice, I know we haven't known each other very long so I'm going to put this as lightly as I can," said Alana, rubbing her forehead as a headache came on, "Please shut up!"

Alice blushed and stopped talking. Alana gave her an appreciative smile and Alice didn't seem upset. She knew she got rather annoying when she was excited. Just then, the compartment door opened and the girls looked up.

"Sev!" Lily said happily, "I was getting worried you wouldn't find us."

"I had to change into my robes," the boy said. He was a pale and sallow boy with long, greasy black hair and a hooked nose. Alana crossed her arms over her chest, feeling slightly uncomfortable around this boy.

"Everyone, this is Severus Snape. We met before started," introduced Lily, "Sev, this is Alana Tortelli and her sister Elizabeth, and Alice Lenns."

"It's nice to meet you all," he said politely and sat down next to Lily. They began talking animatedly about something they had read in their potions books. Alana turned to her sister and gave her a mischievous grin.

"So…that Remus Lupin seemed rather nice," she said.

"Come on Al, I know what you're thinking," Elizabeth said, shaking her head and blushing, "I don't want to be distracted by guys, I just want to survive my first year and do well in my classes."

"You know you will," her sister said, patting her on the shoulder, "You're a super human genius, remember? Promise to help me pass?"

"You know it. And you would do fine on your own, you're smart. You just need to try a little harder."

"But you explain everything so much better than teachers do," said Alana, "I guess it's the whole twin telepathy thing."

"Do twins really have that?" Lily asked with interest, stopping her conversation with the greasy-haired boy. He also seemed interested.

"Kind of, it's a little complicated," Elizabeth said thoughtfully, "Obviously we don't know exactly what the other is thinking, we're not mind readers. We just know each other so well that we can predict what the other will do."

"And that whole thing about feeling each other's pain is a load of bullshit," said Alana, "You stick me with a pin and Elizabeth isn't going to cry out in pain. Whatever twins made that myth up were either crazy or seriously stoned."

The girls laughed and even Severus cracked a smile. Elizabeth decided to cause her sister some embarrassment too.

"That guy, Sirius Black, seemed pretty smitten with you," she said and Alana just waved her hand.

"Please, he's totally the type that flatters women and uses his looks to his advantage. He just thinks I'm pretty and wants to try his charms on me."

"Little does he know that Alana Tortelli isn't the type of girl to be charmed easily," Liz said with a laugh.

"Exactly. Now James Potter on the other hand, he seemed rather nice," Alana said with a grin at Lily. No one seemed to notice Severus' face become dark and his small smile faded.

"Uh, no way!" exclaimed Lily, "He referred to me as a damsel in distress. How corny is that?"

"I think he was trying to make a joke," said Alice but Lily shook her head.

"No, the way he said was so arrogant! He thinks he's so awesome and that he can just woo any girl he wants with that line. I don't like him at all." Severus returned to normal and continued his conversation with Lily.

Elizabeth shrugged and watched the trees whiz by as the sun started to set. The other girls were talking about houses but Elizabeth wasn't paying any attention. Her thoughts were on her school books she had read, the hope that she and her sister would be in the same house, and the sandy-haired boy that she just couldn't get out of her head.

_Author's Note: Welcome to the beginning of my Marauder story! This was actually the first story I ever decided to write down, which was about three years ago before I even knew fanfiction existed. Obviously I've made a lot of changes over the years but the plot line has remained mostly the same. Although I haven't written down everything just yet, I know pretty much what's going to happen._

_This story is really a prequel to another story I've written that takes place during Harry's years at Hogwarts. Once this is completed, I'll post that if people seem interested. _

_That being said, please tell me what you think of this chapter as a first impression. I really want to hear your first reactions. Did I introduce the characters well enough? Is there anything you want to comment on? Feel free to PM me throughout the story if you have any questions or post them in your reviews. I love feedback and hearing what you all think. That being said, please hit that little review button and make me happy! :)_


	2. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: I wish I owned this but, alas, I am a mere student and not the famous J.K Rowling. Quick heads up by the way, Alana has a temper and a dirty mouth. It's all part of her personality but I just wanted to give you a warning. Okay, on with the story!_

Chapter 1

James braced himself as he opened the portrait hole to the common room. He knew that Lily would start yelling at him for being Head Boy. He couldn't help it, he didn't even want it, but he had it and he decided to do his best to please Lily and not over use his powers.

Seven years had passed since that day on the train when James and his friends met the girls. They had grown up and learned more than any of them could've imagined the day when they were sorted. Now it was their last year together at Hogwarts and no one seemed to know where the years had gone.

And yet, every one of those years, James found himself liking Lily more and more. He couldn't explain it, even his friends told him to give up and go out with another girl. He had even started thinking of giving up too.

_No,_ he thought every time this idea came into his head, _She's the one. I just need to let her see I've changed. I'm not the hot-headed boy I was._

However, his thoughts were broken by the sound of Lily's melodious voice.

"Potter, I just wanted to say…congratulations on being Head Boy."

"Oh, uh, thanks," he replied nervously, "You too, I mean on being Head Girl. That would be weird if you were Head Boy because you're not a boy. I mean, I've always known you're a girl but…yeah, thanks Lily," he ended lamely.

"Sure, thank you too James," said Lily, surprise evident in her voice.

James watched as she walked away. _Nice James,_ he thought sarcastically, _Keep that up and just maybe she'll go out with you…not!_

…...

"What was that all about?" asked Alice as Lily came over.

"Just congratulating Potter on becoming Head Boy," Lily answered casually.

"So does this mean your giving him a chance?" asked Elizabeth from behind _Hogwarts: A History_. She was reading up on Hogwarts since she had been appointed Prefect in place of Lily.

"He's a really great guy, not to mention he _REALLY_ likes you, Lily. He's not the prat he was before," said Alice.

"And, you have to admit," said Alana, "Snape deserves everything James does to him. The slimeball," she added in an undertone. Alana had hated Snape from day one and never got over it, especially after what he had said during their fifth year during O..

"I know, I know! I guess I am, but if he hasn't changed, then that's it," said Lily, a slight blush creeping across her face.

"Speaking of chances…" said Elizabeth meaningfully. Everyone turned to Alana.

"What? Oh no… no way am I giving Black a chance! He's still an arrogant, disrespectful git!" said Alana angrily.

"You know Al, you've had Black around your little finger since day one," said Elizabeth, smiling.

"He just wants me to think that so I'll go out with him. Then when he's done with me, he'll turn around and go out with some other poor sap," said Alana, annoyed. "I've seen him do it many a time"

"Al, just give him a chance," said Alice, "People change and mature over time."

"Only if he were to treat me like a lady, not just some toy he'll throw away when he gets bored of it."

There was silence where the girls were lost in thought.

"Did you all hear Dumbledore's speech?" asked Lily, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yeah! Something about a one thousand year anniversary of the school's founding," said Alice.

"And on Christmas Eve, there's going to be a dance," said Alana excitedly.

"Yep, the Head Boy and Girl along with the prefects are going to organize it," said Lily.

"Cool," said Alana, "Any ideas yet?"

"No, I wanted to ask Potter first."

"Oooh!" said Alice, smiling widely.

"Oh shut it. Besides, I know a certain boy you'd like to be with. Last name begins with Long… ends in bottom."

It was common knowledge that Alice like Frank and vice versa. The only people who didn't know were Frank and Alice themselves.

"Hmm… touché," said Alice, blushing furiously.

The girls laughed and Alana grinned at her sister. She and Elizabeth had luckily been sorted together. Liz had told her the hat had a hard time deciding between Ravenclaw and Gryffindor but eventually put the two sisters together. Al could've kissed the hat when she heard that. She would've hated having her sister, her closest friend, in a different house.

Elizabeth went back to her book and Al sighed. Her sister was beautiful with her long black hair, tan skin, and dark brown eyes, although she usually had bags under those eyes hidden behind reading glasses from studying so late. Alana wished her sister would just put down her books and get out every once in a while. Sure she would hang out with the girls and she was very good friends with Remus, but she always turned down guys that asked her to Hogsmede. She never even gave them a chance! At least Alana would go out with them before passing judgment. Liz was just naturally overly-cautious around guys. She had this belief that all guys were jackasses and dumped girls for no reason at all. Al tried to explain that was just Black, but it didn't matter.

Alana turned her attention to her best friend Lily Evans. Lily had medium-length red hair that fell down her shoulders in loose waves. Al envied her friend's hair. While hers and her sister's was thick and straight and just downright a pain in the ass to manage, Lily's hair always looked gorgeous, even when she woke up in the morning. Her eyes were bright green and always had a playful sparkle, except when she was yelling at James. It was only then that the sparkle was replaced by angry sparks. Freckles dotted her friend's pale skin and Alana remembered how many guys had asked Lily out over the years. However, they never lasted long and usually dumped her quickly and nervously. This could only be because James frightened them all off.

Alice was bent over a letter she was writing to her family back home. Sweet, innocent Alice. She really had no idea how much Frank fancied her. Al had seen how the Gryffindor stared after her when she walked by. Alana had to remind him many a time to wipe drool off his mouth. And of course there was the times that Alice had gone out on dates with guys and Frank had sunk into a mini depression every time this happened. However, they all ended with Alice breaking it off and Frank would recover. They both insisted they were friends, nothing more.

_Famous last words,_ she thought with a chuckle.

As for her, Alana had her share of suitors as well. She never went on a Hogsmede trip alone, except when she decided it was to be a girl's trip. Guys practically followed her around school and she would be lying if she told herself it bothered her. Yes, sometimes it was really annoying and, frankly, rather creepy. But it was nice to know that she was attractive and guys liked her. She never had any serious relationships and they usually ended after a month at the most. But Alana decided that this year, she would concentrate on enjoying her last year with her friends. Nope, Al was going to be single this year…unless Mr. Right came riding in on his horse to win her heart that is.

…...

The month of September changed to October with the falling of leaves and the wind picking up. After many meetings and debates, the Head Boy and Girl with the Prefects decided to have a masquerade party for the one thousand year anniversary of Hogwarts. James and Lily were walking back from the meeting. It was beautiful out and most students were trying to enjoy the weather while it lasted. James realized that they were alone in the corridor.

_Go on James, ask her. Just be yourself and RELAX!_

"Um Lily? Can…Can I ask you something?" he asked tentatively.

"Sure James. What's up?" He loved how she started saying his first name. He had gained a new appreciation for his name every time she said it.

She turned to look at him. James knew she was pretty, but with the torchlight, she looked like an angel.

"I was just wondering if maybe, uh, you'd like to go to Hogsmede with me?" asked James, trying hard not to talk too fast.

"Oh," said Lily, taken by surprise, "Uh, um, sure. That sounds okay."

"Really?" he said eagerly but quickly stopped himself and said, "I mean, cool. I'll meet you in the common room at nine?"

"Sure," said Lily, smiling slightly.

James was ecstatic. It was finally happening; he was going out with the girl of his dreams. He didn't even realize that they had reached the portrait hole until Lily gave the password. He said good bye to Lily and sat down.

"Well someone had a good meeting," said Sirius. "Moony was just telling us, a masquerade huh? Prongs, are you even listening to me?"

"No Padfoot, I'm not because I'm planning out my date with Lily."

"Oh, well, that's oka-hey what!"

"You got a date, a real date with _the_ Lily Evans," said Peter.

"The Lily Evans that called you an arrogant toerag?" asked Frank.

"The Lily Evans that said she would rather go out with the Giant Squid than with you?" asked Remus, smiling at the memory.

"The Lily Evans-" began Sirius.

"Yes! That Lily Evans!" cried James. "You make it sound like that's impossible.

"Well," said Remus, "To put it kindly, we thought she hated your guts."

"Yeah, I did too. Maybe she's giving me a chance," said James, feeling giddy.

"Great, now I'm stuck with Remus while you three all have dates. Just kidding Remus, just a joke," added Peter, seeing Remus' fake annoyed face.

"What do you mean the three of us?" asked James, suspiciously.

"Well Frank here got a date with Alice-" started Sirius, making Frank blush.

"About time!" Remus, Peter, and James said together.

"It's not a date, we're just getting a butterbeer together," muttered Frank, turning bright red.

"Right Frank, you keep telling yourself that. Anyway, and I have a date with, drum roll please… Alana Tortelli!" finished Sirius.

"WHAT?" they yelled.

People stared at them, including the girls they were just talking about, who were just leaving through the portrait hole. Alana gave Sirius one of her infamous raised eyebrow looks, but smiled and continued walking.

"Yep. I, Sirius Black, got a date with _the_ Alana Tortelli."

"How?" Frank asked appalled. "I thought she hated you with every fiber of her being."

"Yeah," said James, looking confused, "She hates you more than Lily hates me. Well, maybe _hated_ is the better term now," he added with a goofy grin.

"Well it's like this," said Sirius, "I happened to overhear her tell her friends that she would only go out with me if I acted like a gentleman."

"More like eavesdropped on her conversations," Remus whispered loudly.

Peter did a cough that sounded like "stalker", which made James and Frank laugh.

"Ahem, when you're finished…thank you. So as I was saying, I had to act like a gentleman. So, for the past month, I've been opening doors for her, being kind, I even dumped all my girlfriends and turned down dates to Hogsmede." At this, he pretended to wipe a tear. "Then, when I was walking her to the common room, I politely asked her if she would like to accompany me to the Three Broomsticks when we go to Hogsmede. She said yes, we're meeting here at nine, and you know the rest."

The four boys stared at Sirius then looked at each other and erupted into fits of uncontrollable laughter.

"What's so funny?" asked Sirius.

"Nothing Padfoot," said Remus, wiping tears out of his eyes.

"It's just that you being a gentleman and picturing you opening doors for ladies and stuff is funny," said Peter.

"Oh hardy har har," Sirius said sarcastically, "Come on, it's nice today, lets go outside."

So they packed up their bags and went onto the grounds, still laughing at Sirius.

_Author's Note: Yay, chapter one is here and ready to be read! I know I skipped the first six years but everything important that happened before the seventh year will be explained if need be. I'm actually thinking about writing another story later to explain the other years but that's only if you guys like this story. So, to know if you guys like it, I need reviews! I've trained the review button not to bite anymore so it's okay to click it, I swear! Thank you to arisasira for being my first reviewer and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! :)_


	3. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: I own everything you don't recognize. Hey, at least it's something!_

Chapter 2

"I don't believe it!" said Alice.

"I know," said Lily, who couldn't hide the huge grin on her face, "I couldn't believe it when he asked me."

"And you said yes! I knew you'd warm up to him," Alana said with a smile.

The girls were sitting by the lake, putting their toes in the water while Elizabeth was reading under a nearby tree. It was a lot warmer than it had been the past few weeks.

"Well, according to your sister, I'm not the only one who's warmed up to someone," Lily said teasingly.

"Okay, you caught me," said Alana, putting her hands up.

"And a little birdie told me that Frank asked you to Hogsmede as well?" Lily turned to Alice, who turned bright pink.

"It's not a date, we're just going to get a butterbeer," muttered Alice, though not looking up.

"Well, either way, it's about time," said Elizabeth from behind her book. She came over and sat next to her sister. "You all are going to have so much fun," she said.

"Yeah… oh no, Lizzy!" exclaimed her sister, "You don't have anyone to go with!"

"It's fine Al. I'll be all right."

"No you're not," said Alana, "I won't go then."

"No," said Elizabeth firmly, "I'm not letting the reason for you not having fun be because me. If you don't go with Sirius, I'll never help you with History of Magic again."

"Oh…all right, but I'm not happy with it," said Alana, defeated. She needed all the help she could get in History of Magic.

…...

"Moony? Moony! Hey, Remus!" yelled James.

"Huh, what?" asked Remus.

"What'cha looking at?" asked Sirius.

"N-No one, I mean nothing," stuttered Remus, blushing.

"He's looking at Layna Delucci, in Gryffindor. She's in sixth year," said Peter.

"Wormtail, shut up!" said Remus, angrily.

"Awww! Moony's in love!" said James and Sirius together.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"Too!"

"Too!"

"Not!"

"Ha!" cried Remus, "Works every time."

"Anyway," said Frank, as James and Sirius tried to figure out what just happened, "Have you talked to her?"

"No," mumbled Remus.

"Well then-," started James.

"-let's introduce you to her," finished Sirius.

Before Remus could protest, James and Sirius grabbed him and walked over to a group of sixth year Gryffindor girls.

"Hello ladies. We'd like to introduce you to our friend Remus Lupin," said Sirius, smiling his charismatic smile.

There was much giggling and Layna just rolled her eyes at her friends.

"Hi Remus, I'm Layna Delucci."

"Hi," mumbled Remus, looking at the grass.

There was a few seconds of awkward silence so James said, "Well, so long ladies." and they walked back to Frank and Peter.

"Remus Lupin, remember what I said in first year about you being good with the ladies? Well, I take it all back," said Sirius, shaking his head.

"Thanks Sirius," said Remus sarcastically and sighed, "I just get nervous around her."

"Same with me and Evans," said James.

"And me with Lenns," said Frank.

"And me with, well, all girls," said Peter.

"The point is," said Sirius, "You've got to get over it. Why don't you ask her to Hogsmede?"

"I just met her!" exclaimed Remus.

"Great!" said Sirius, a grin that usually meant trouble on his face, "Now let the lessons begin!"

…...

Remus was walking back from the library with Layna. He noticed that no one was in the corridor.

_Do it now,_ he thought.

"Hey, um, Layna?"

"Yes Remus?"

"I was, um, kinda wondering…"

"Yes?" she prompted him, a small smile creeping across her face. It wasn't helping him much.

He took a deep breath and asked really fast, "Wondering-if-you-would-go-to-Hogsmede-with-me?"

"Um, sorry? I didn't catch that."

"I was wondering if you would go to Hogsmede with me next weekend," he repeated slower.

"Oh, sure Remus! That sounds lovely!" Layna said, smiling.

"Great, so I'll meet you in the common room around nine?"

"Sounds wonderful!"

They walked the rest of the way back in silence. Once in the common room, they said good-bye and separated. Remus sat down next to James, Sirius, and Frank, who were with Lily, Alana, Alice and Elizabeth.

"Hey Remus, you look happy," said Lily.

"Did you ask her?" Sirius asked.

He nodded, his expression blank.

"And…?" said James, expectantly.

"She said yes. I'm meeting her here at nine," said Remus, smiling widely.

"Who?" asked Elizabeth, looking up from her book.

"Layna Delucci," said Remus dreamily, not even looking at anyone in particular.

"She's in sixth year," added Frank.

"Oh," said Elizabeth, comprehending. She went back to her book, frowning slightly, though no one noticed. That was thing about Elizabeth, everyone knew she was there and all, but no one really noticed what she did. They all assumed she was just reading another book, which was true for ninety-nine percent of the time. But everyone forgot there was that one percent…

"Hey, maybe we could all meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch," suggested Alice.

So for the next hour, they talked about Hogsmede while Elizabeth read, silently sinking into an unnoticeable depression.

_Author's Note: This chapter is kinda short for me, only three pages instead of my average of five or six, so I'm also going to post chapter 3 now too. Hope you enjoyed this! :)_


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: You know, these disclaimers are not only annoying, they're depressing. I don't own Harry Potter, only the stuff J.K Rowling didn't include in her books. There, I said it! Jeez..._

Chapter 4

On the day of the Hogsmede trip, there was pandemonium in the seventh year girls' dormitory. Elizabeth watched as her friends and sister got ready for their dates. She sighed and watched as Alana was doing Lily and Alice's make-up. She hoped that all went well with Alana's date with Sirius. She knew that Alana only pretended to despise Sirius, but really, she liked him. Alana always had to be the rock of the group, she felt it was her role just like Elizabeth was the quiet one. But they weren't twins for nothing and she could always tell what Alana was really feeling. Elizabeth didn't want to see Alana's heart break like hers had already had.

Ever since Remus said he was going out with Layna, Elizabeth felt like someone had ripped out all her insides. She knew that she liked Remus, ever since the day on the train six years ago. He was so kind and considerate, even when his friends were rude and obnoxious. During those growing pain years, Remus would spend time with Liz and her friends so the two had gotten to know each other even more. Until now, however, she didn't realize just how much she liked him. So lately, she just studied in her bed and didn't say much in class, she felt like what was the point of doing anything? Today, though, she knew that if any of her friend's dates went wrong, she had to be there. So she decided to go to Hogsmede and just avoid Remus and Layna as much as possible. It was her turn to be the rock for the day.

"Hey Lizzy, you ready?" asked Lily.

"Yeah, let's go," she answered.

They made their way to the common room, there they were greeted by James, Sirius, Frank and Peter. Remus, they told them, had gone ahead with Layna, much to Elizabeth's relief. Once they got to Hogsmede, the couples, Peter, and Elizabeth went their separate ways.

…

"So…where do you want to go?" asked Alana.

"How does Honeydukes sound?" asked Sirius.

"Great!" said Alana, grinning broadly.

Afterwards, after they bought pounds of candy, they went to Zonko's and up to the Shrieking Shack.

"It's almost noon. You want to go to the Three Broomsticks?" asked Sirius.

"Sure, I'm starving," said Alana.

They walked into the pub, ordered their food and sat down in a booth. They had just sat down when a group of giggling girls came over and swarmed the booth. Alana was pushed up against the wall. She couldn't even breathe so she climbed over the wall of the booth and landed on the other side where Remus and Layna happened to be sitting.

"Sorry, bit crazy over there," said Alana.

Remus helped her out and she turned towards Sirius, but a sight made her stop in her tracks and she felt sick. Sirius was making out with one of the other girls. She walked over to him and slapped him across the face.

"I thought you had changed!" she yelled.

Then she turned on her heel and ran out. She didn't know where she was going and didn't care. She just wanted to get as far away from Sirius as she could.

"Al! Alana? What's the matter?" asked a voice.

Alana looked up and saw her sister running towards her, worry in her eyes and etched all over her face. She couldn't hold it any more. She hugged her sister and cried. She cried until she was shaking. The whole time, Elizabeth held her and tried to comfort her.

"Alana…shh…it's okay," she said as she patted her sister on the back.

After a few minutes, Alana slowed down and was able to talk. She looked up at her sister.

"Can we sit down?" she asked tearfully.

"Sure," her sister answered gently.

Elizabeth led her down an alleyway and they sat down on a nearby rock. Once she was ready, Alana told her sister everything.

"Well, everything was great. We went to Honeydukes, Zonko's, and then the Shrieking Shack. We decided to go get lunch while we waited for the others. Then all of these…girls came over and pushed me out of the way, so I climbed over the booth, landed next to Remus and Layna." At this, Elizabeth's face darkened, but Alana didn't see, her eyes were too full of tears to see anything, "And I turned and s-saw h-him…saw him…"

"It's okay, you don't have to say it," said Elizabeth, realizing what had happened. Sirius had been kissing another girl while on a date with her sister. What a jackass!

"Anyway, I slapped him and ran for it. Then I bumped into you and you know the rest," she finished, tears running down her face. "I really thought he had changed," she whispered.

"I know you did, I thought so too," said Elizabeth, putting an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"What am I going to do? I can't show my face again," said Alana.

"I think that you should go and talk to him," said Elizabeth with a huge sigh, "Yes, he was a jackass towards you but you should at least hear his side of the story before passing judgment."

"I don't want anything to do with him!" said Alana, shaking her head fervently, "I'm not going back in there."

"You don't have to," came a voice in front of them. They looked up and saw Sirius standing there awkwardly in the shadows. "Alana, let me explain-"

"Explain what? Explain why you were snogging that girl? I know why Black, it's because you can't have one girl for more than a day! You dump any girl and go for something 'better'. I just wasn't good enough for you, just a challenge for you to win. And you won! Congratulations, I finally did it!" she said, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't try to wipe them, "You went out with me, now on to the next round! It's just one big game for you, isn't it Black?"

"No, that's not it. Listen before, sure, it was all a game. I would get tired of the same girl and go on for something better, but lately, the only prize I want is for you to trust me. Those girls in there, they just showed up. That girl who was kissing me, I was trying to get her off of me. I have no idea who they are or how they knew I'd be there with you! I've been looking everywhere to tell you that." He walked over and took Alana's hands. "Alana, I really like you. I've never liked anyone as much as you. I'd never, ever, want to hurt you."

"Really?" asked Alana, looking at him.

"Really, really," he said.

That made her laugh. Sirius wiped the tears from Alana's eyes and helped her up.

"Now come on, everyone is waiting for us," he said.

"Okay, come on Liz," said Alana, suddenly remembering she was there too.

"No you go ahead, I was just heading up to the castle."

"Are you sure?" asked Sirius.

"Yeah, go on you love birds," teased Elizabeth. They turned and started walking. "Oh, Sirius?" called Elizabeth. He turned to her and she said, "If you ever hurt my sister again, well," She twirled her wand between her fingers, "I'll just have to jinx you into the next century."

Sirius gave a nervous laugh then, realizing she wasn't kidding, stopped.

"Have fun!" she called happily.

_Author's Note: This chapter is short too, but I'm hoping that since I did a double update, you'll forgive me...hopefully…maybe? Anyway, the beginning of this chapter is just a taste of what's coming up later so be prepared for it to get slightly darker and a wee bit more angsty. The real drama and angst come much later though, just so you know. So please tell me what you think so far because I really love getting reviews from you all. Thanks! :)_


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize from the books. The twins and plot though, that's all mine._

Chapter 4

November came with lots of clouds and wind. As the weather got colder, more and more people were talking about the one thousand anniversary ball. Everyone seemed happy except for Elizabeth, whose attitude matched the weather outside: dark and sad. Her emotions were too strong now to go unnoticed by her friends and teachers.

Normally, Elizabeth was optimistic and always had the answer in class. Now, she worked in her room and was silent during the day. When she did answer a question, and she only did this when called on by concerned teachers, it was just the answer whereas before, she would have elaborated to the point where some teachers cut her off. Alana started to worry, but when asked if she felt all right, Elizabeth would put on a smile and say she was fine and not to worry. It also did not go unnoticed that Remus and Layna were boyfriend and girlfriend. They were constantly holding hands or snogging.

One night, the Marauders (minus Remus), Frank, Alice, Alana, Lily, and Elizabeth were doing homework together. They heard the portrait hole open and saw Remus and Layna come in and make their way to their favorite arm chair for their nightly snogging. A few people groaned, but Alana saw her sister pick up her bag and papers, and make a beeline for the girl's dormitory.

_That's it!_ thought Alana as realization hit her, _She likes Remus._

Alana got up and ran up the stairs to their dormitory. She opened the door and went over to Elizabeth's bed as quietly as she could. She could hear sniffling from behind the curtains. She sighed and opened the curtains. Elizabeth had her knees up to her chest and was crying into them.

"Elizabeth?" she said softly.

Elizabeth looked up, wiping furiously at her tears, while Alana pretended to be interested with the curtains. When she was sure her sister was ready to be looked at, she sat on the end of the bed.

"How long have you liked him?" she asked kindly.

Elizabeth looked confused then, realizing who her sister meant, smiled slightly.

"Since the first day on the train," she said sheepishly.

"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Alana.

"I didn't realize how much I really liked him until he started dating that Layna girl," said Elizabeth, tearfully, "I thought it was just a crush and didn't want you to, no offense, make it awkward for us because I didn't know if he liked me back. Now I realize he obviously doesn't. Yet even though he's a werewolf I still like him…a lot."

Alana sighed, remembering when her sister had told her about Remus' condition during their second year. The twins had vowed not to breathe a word of it to anyone and agreed it didn't matter what Remus was. He was still their friend. "I know Lizzy. He's a good guy, but a guy none the less," she said. They sat there, holding each other for a while, and then Alana said seriously, "You know Liz, if he doesn't like you for who you are, he's not worth it."

"I know Al, it's just…I can't even look at him with…_her_. It feels like someone's torn out my heart and proceeded to step on it."

Alana looked at her sister and saw the pain in her eyes. She was furious at Remus for causing this much pain onto her little sister, even if he didn't know he was doing it. She, however, put her anger aside and used her energy to comfort her sister, like Elizabeth had done for her before in Hogsmede.

"Lizzy, I'll be right back. I'm going to bring Lily and Alice up here."

"What? No Al, I'm fine, really," Elizabeth protested.

"Liz, they want to help you. That's what friends are for," said Alana firmly.

Elizabeth nodded reluctantly and Alana went downstairs and went over to the girls were.

"Lils, Alice, go upstairs. Liz needs some girl love up there."

They nodded, looking concerned and, once they were upstairs, Sirius turned to Alana.

"Is she all right?" he asked.

"Hopefully, she will be," she answered, looking away.

Her eyes landed on the shadows of Remus and Layna and white-hot anger flared up inside her. She couldn't hold it in any longer. Her self-restraint wasn't that great to begin with when she was angry so adding the fact that Remus was causing her sister pain made it much worse. She walked over to the chair where the couple's nightly snogging occurred.

"Remus! REMUS!" she yelled, but to no avail. _He asked for it,_ she thought.

She put two fingers in her mouth, got really close to Remus' ear, and whistled loudly. The effect was instantaneous. Remus yelped and fell over, dragging Layna down. He looked up and saw Alana standing over him, fire burning in her eyes that wasn't a reflection from the fireplace.

"Sorry Remus," she said insincerely, "Now that I got your attention, I think I speak on behalf of most of the people in this room when I ask that you mind taking your girlfriend and finding a nice, dark broom closet to snog in so we don't have to watch your terrible kissing skills?" Her voice was wavering because she was trying to keep it from breaking the sound barrier.

"W-What?" said Remus, confused.

"Let me make this simpler for you, seeing as you've lost most of your brain cells by kissing her," she spat, her voice rising, "GET A ROOM!" she yelled.

She turned, leaving a confused Remus on the ground, and headed to the dormitory. She was cut off by James, Sirius, Frank, and Peter.

"We need to talk," said James tersely.

Alana took one last look at the stairs and nodded jerkily. They left the common room and started walking. They stopped and watched as James paced in front of a wall three times. On the third time, a door appeared and they went through. The room contained five seats, four on one side and the other on the opposite side. Alana sat in the one chair and watched as the other four took the remaining seats.

"Look guys, I'm sorry about yelling at Remus, though I won't say he didn't deserve it," said Alana furiously.

"What did he do to make you blow up like that? Surely he snogging someone wouldn't make you that angry! It was like you and Sirius fighting all over again," said Frank.

"I have my reasons," Alana said coldly.

"Then what are they?" said Sirius angrily, "It's not because you like him, right?" he asked, looking at Alana closely, if not a little hurt.

"No!" snapped Alana angrily, "Why would you ask such a stupid question, Sirius? I believe it was you I went out with and not Remus!"

"Listen Alana," said James as Sirius let out a sigh of relief, "Remus is our friend and yours too. He's happier than ever with Layna. So what's the big deal?"

"I'll tell you what the "big deal" is!" said Alana, losing her temper again. She really had to work on that. "In case you all haven't noticed, my sister isn't herself and you want to know why? It's because she's got her heart broken over Remus going out with that Layna girl!"

There was silence and Alana spoke again, quieter this time, "You don't know what it's like, since you're either only children or hate you siblings, seeing someone you love in that much pain," she whispered, "She can't look at him without feeling terrible, Merlin she can't even be in the same room as him. It gets worse everyday and I can't do anything about it," said Alana, her voice cracking.

The boys just stared at her. They didn't know what to say. They watched as she got up and left the room in tears.

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I feel like a big jerk," James said sadly, after she closed the door silently.

"Really, I feel like a jackass," Sirius said heavily, "I can't stand to see Alana like that."

"Poor Alana, she was just trying to be a good sister," said Frank.

"Yeah, but what can we do, break them up? That would be horrible," said Sirius, although looking like he was seriously considering it. He really did hate to see Alana so upset.

"Who knows? Maybe they'll break up on their own soon," said Peter, hopefully.

The boys silently agreed with Peter but found that very unlikely. It seemed they would just have to deal with it for the time being.

_Author's Note: Okay, so I know that Remus is acting un-Remus like, for lack of a better term, but I like to think that this is his first girlfriend and that's why he's acting so weird. Don't worry though, he'll come to his senses very soon. I love Remus too much to make him like a jerk for very long. Reviews are welcome, as always, so please let me know if you like it or if I should just stop. Thank you! :)_


	6. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: No, I don't own Harry Potter. Yes, I like to pretend I do. Is that so wrong?_

Chapter 5

A few weeks after Alana yelled at Remus, she reluctantly apologized, only because Elizabeth forced her to. Elizabeth wasn't getting any better. Now she couldn't eat much or sleep, she didn't participate in class even when called on, acting like she didn't know the answers. She stayed in the dormitories, except for classes and mealtimes. Even Remus started to wonder were she was.

"Hey Alana?" he asked tentatively, since was only a few weeks since Alana apologized.

"What?" she snapped, showing she was still sore with him.

"Where is Elizabeth?"

Alana thought about saying, "In her room probably crying her eyes out and it's your own bloody fault!" but instead she made up an excuse.

"Bathroom," she said curtly.

"Oh okay, because I had a question about Runes."

Alana bit back a dirty retort with much difficulty. To stop herself from cursing loudly at Remus, she gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on her quill, which broke in half, splattering ink everywhere. Cursing Remus under her breath, she cleaned up the mess. Yes, she definitely needed to learn to control her temper better.

The next day, the Marauders, Frank, Lily, Alice, Elizabeth (who had to be forced out of bed that morning), Alana, and, much to the disgust of the others, Layna were eating breakfast. Alana was the only one of the group to get the _Daily Prophet_ and only because her sister made the subscription out in her name by mistake. She looked at the cover and gave a cry of surprise.

"What is it?' everyone said.

She showed them the front page and Sirius cursed loudly in response to the picture. On the cover, was a large photograph of a short woman, who resembled a toad, smiling up at them. The headline read: "New Assistant to the Minister."

Alana read the article aloud:

"_After the retirement of Margaret Mounds, the Minister of Magic, writes Abigail Lee, appointed a new assistant, Dolores Jane Umbridge. Umbridge, who is known for her work in "controlling" magical creatures, has been trying to pass a law in which all werewolves, vampires, etc. would not be allowed to learn or perform magic. She argues, "These creatures are dangerous and teaching them magic will make them even more so." In an interview after being appointed assistant, she said, "I hope this position will help me in the future." An insider to the Ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, responded when they learned of this new appointment by saying, "I don't know what the Minister was thinking." Hopefully, he was thinking of others, not just for himself._"

Everyone was silent.

"That terrible woman!" said James.

"She's horrible!" said Lily.

"Monster!" cried Alice.

"That toad faced b-" started Sirius

"Sirius!" yelled Frank, cutting him off, "I couldn't agree more!"

"Well, I think she's right," said Layna calmly.

Everyone started at her.

"What?" said Elizabeth, stunned. She hadn't spoken until just then and her voice was horse from lack of use.

"Well," said Layna, turning to Elizabeth with a hint of surprise, "Umbridge is right, teaching magic to people like that is not a good idea."

"Excuse me?" said Elizabeth, her anger rising.

"I mean, imagine what would happen if, let's say, werewolves learned magic. They could use it against us." During all this, Remus turned paler and paler.

"Really?" said Elizabeth, seeming to calm down slightly, "Layna tell me, have you actually met a werewolf?"

"No, of course not," said Layna, frowning.

"Well, I have," At this, Remus' head shot up like a rocket, eyes wide. Elizabeth ignored this reaction and Layna didn't notice. "He's a great guy, kind, and a little shy. He's not the guy you picture ripping out someone's heart and eating it for breakfast." She paused for a minute, collecting her thoughts. "Not all werewolves are bad, just like people. You ever heard of Adolf Hitler? No? Well, I guess that doesn't surprise me too much. He was a horrible man who was driven on killing Jewish people and leaving those with only blonde hair and blue eyes. He called it the Aryan race, or perfect race. He started the Second World War because of his beliefs."

"Your point?" said Layna, in a bored voice and yawning.

"I'd shut my mouth if I were you, Delucci!" snarled Alana, her knuckles white from gripping the edge of the table.

"My point," said Elizabeth loudly, "Is that you can't judge a whole population on just one person."

"Yes, but half-breeds aren't like us. They're not as smart," said Layna, as if talking to a little child.

"Oh really? You know what, my friend is way smarter than you Delucci!" said Elizabeth, finally losing her temper.

"Are you calling me stupid?" asked Layna.

"Yeah dumb-ass, I am, glad you caught on so fast! They can't help it if they have a problem! It's people like you and that Umbitch that give werewolves and other creatures such a bad reputation!" yelled Elizabeth.

Everyone looked at Elizabeth. This was the most she had said in weeks and she never cursed, that was what Alana usually did. Layna was speechless.

"Remy, are you going to let her talk to me like this?" asked Layna.

"Oh sure, ask your boyfriend to defend you!" cried Elizabeth, not looking at Remus.

"Remy, Remy Poo, do something!" pleaded Layna. Elizabeth got up, a look of disgust on her face, and walked away. Layna smiled. "Glad she left. Remy, can you believe her?"

"Yeah, I can," said Remus, staring where Elizabeth had just stormed out.

He got up and ran after her, ignoring Layna's calls. He could just see the hem of a robe whip around the corner. He turned and saw Elizabeth walking down the corridor.

"Elizabeth!" he called. She turned, saw Remus, and broke into a run. "Wait, Liz, stop!" he called to no avail.

He ran after her and eventually managed to grab her wrist. She struggled to get away, but he held her arm firmly.

"What do you want?" she cried as she tried desperately to pull away, "I'm not apologizing to your girlfriend!"

"No, that's not it, and she's not my girlfriend. At least, not anymore," Remus added.

"What do you mean?" she asked, stopping her struggle and looking at him in the eye for the first time in weeks.

"After what she said just now, I can't be with her anymore," said Remus solemnly.

"Oh," said Elizabeth.

"What you said to Layna, about knowing a werewolf, were you telling the truth?" he asked quietly.

"Yes," she whispered, "I've known since second year."

"And did you mean everything you said about werewolves?" he continued nervously.

"Of course!" she said, looking surprised at his question, "Remus, you can't help who you are. You just have a…a…"

"A furry little problem?" finished Remus, smiling.

"Yeah!" said Elizabeth, laughing.

They stood there awkwardly, Remus still holding Elizabeth's arm. He realized this, but didn't let go.

"We should head back, before my sister beats Layna to a pulp," said Elizabeth.

"Oh…yeah, you're right," said Remus, a little reluctantly.

Remus let go of Elizabeth's arm, much to her dismay, and went back to the Great Hall. They didn't see their friends, so they headed back to the common room. They saw Layna, but no one else. As they entered, Layna jumped up and ran over to Remus.

"Oh, Remy, thank goodness you're here!" she cried, "Your friends were being so mean to me and you weren't there to protect me!"

"Layna, we need to talk," said Remus.

"I'll, ah, just go over here," said Elizabeth, knowing things could get ugly.

No sooner had she pulled out her work, did she hear sobbing.

"R-Remus, w-why are y-you doing this?" Layna sobbed.

"Listen Layna, we have different views on things, things that can't be changed. I'm sorry, we could still be friends."

Elizabeth cringed, as Layna gave a loud wail, and ran to the girl's dormitory, but when she passed Elizabeth, she stopped, glaring at her.

"This is all your fault!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who ruined my relationship!"

"That's enough Layna," said Remus coldly, "Liz has nothing to do with this."

Layna looked livid, but continued her way to the dormitory. Remus shook his head.

"Sorry about that," he said to Elizabeth, "I actually thought she would take it better, but apparently not."

He sat down next to Elizabeth and the two started working on Potions homework together. However, Remus was not the best Potions student and had many questions. Whenever Elizabeth was explaining something, though, he would look at her instead of the passage she was pointing to. She had to tell him to look at what she was pointing to.

"So then you…Remus, what are you looking at?" she asked.

He was looking at something behind her, so she turned and she stomach dropped. Layna was walking down the stairs in the most skin tight outfit Elizabeth had ever seen. She walked right past them, Remus' eyes following her the whole way, and sat down next to a poor unsuspecting boy and started flirting with him, Remus watching the entire time.

"Remus, is anybody home?" Elizabeth asked, half-heartedly. She knew he wasn't paying attention.

Packing up her stuff, she retreated, once more, to the girl's dormitory. She threw her bag onto the bed and sat on the edge, thinking. Why did she think he actually liked her? Layna was the kind of girl that decided when the relationship ended and did not like anyone else deciding instead. She stood up and went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Elizabeth never thought of herself as ugly, just not as beautiful as her sister, even though they were identical. She sighed and started brushing her long black hair, counting to one hundred. On the fifty-third brush, she heard a tapping from a nearby window. She stopped and went into the bed room. Perched on the windowsill was a brown barn owl. She walked over and opened the window. The owl flew onto her bead and held out his leg. Elizabeth undid the letter and watched as the owl flew away. The name on the envelope was her own…in Remus' handwriting.

_Now what?_ thought Elizabeth with a sigh.

She tore the envelope and a little note fell out along with a piece of parchment. She read the small note first.

_Liz,_

_I need to talk to you, though you probably don't want to see me, and I can't blame you. This parchment is two way; you write something on it and I'll get it and vice versa. It's better than Sandy, my owl, having to fly back and forth. This way, we can talk, but you don't have to see me. I know it can be hard to talk to people face-to-face, especially when you are upset with them. Please write soon._

_Remus_

Elizabeth stared at the little paper, then at the parchment. She grabbed a quill and ink and thought about what to write. Finally, she dipped her quill into the ink and began to write.

_Remus? Are you there?_

She waited, though not for long. Words appeared on the parchment.

_Right here. Listen, I want to apologize for my behavior downstairs. Layna and I are done, over, no more. She still thinks there's a chance, but there isn't. Still, how I behaved was wrong to you and to Layna. I'm sorry._

Elizabeth stared at the paper, then wrote:

_Its okay, when Layna wants something, or someone, she'll do anything to get it. She's a pretty girl; a lot of guys would have done the same thing._

She waited, but the next words made her heart pound in her chest.

_Not as pretty as you._

Elizabeth was stunned and felt heat rise in her face. What was that supposed to mean? Did he like her or was he just complementing her? She realized that she had to answer fast. She quickly wrote:

_Thanks Remus. That was very sweet to say. Listen, I'll met you in the common room in a bit, let me finish up here._

She quickly finished brushing her hair, put on jeans and a shirt and grabbed her bag and ran down the stairs, the words appearing in her mind's eye: _Not as pretty as you, not as pretty as you._

_Author's Note: Thank you for reading so if you could please review, I would be extremely happy! I really hope you're enjoying this so far and if you're not, you can tell me so. I love hearing your opinions because they help me with later chapters. So please, hit that review button and tell me what you think! :)_


	7. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize. That honor goes to J.K Rowling. :)_

Chapter 6

It wasn't until dark when Frank, James, Alice, and Lily came into the common room. When they walked in, they all saw Layna snogging the boy she had been flirting with earlier.

"Wow," said Frank, "She gets around fast."

"Can you believe a couple hours ago she was balling her eyes out over the break- up?" said Remus.

"So, where were you guys?" asked Elizabeth.

"We were all in the library," said Alice, smiling and blushing slightly.

Remus looked at Frank with raised eyebrows, but Frank shook his head as if to say, "Not here, later."

"Where's Alana and Sirius?" asked Elizabeth, looking for two extra heads.

"They're not here with you?" said Lily.

"No," Remus and Elizabeth said together.

Just then, the portrait hole opened and in came a disheveled Sirius and Alana, laughing, holding hands, and soaking wet.

"It's raining!" cried Alana, laughing.

"What the bloody hell happened to you two?" said James.

"Come on you guys, I'll tell you all upstairs," said Alana, practically beaming. She waved to Sirius, winking as she went up the stairs, followed by the rest of the girls. The boys turned to Sirius expectedly.

"Well, after the shouting match between Liz and Remus' girlfriend-" started Sirius.

"Ex-girlfriend, we broke up," said Remus, pointing to Layna, who was on the couch with the boy.

"Oh, well good for you Remy Poo," said Sirius, "Anyway, we talked to Layna about her views." At this he cracked his knuckles menacingly. "We pretty much told her to take back what she'd said or we'd introduce her to the Whomping Willow. When you didn't come back, we decided to go work in the library, where Frank had fun, apparently." Frank blushed the color of the red carpet. "Well, Alana and I finished early, so we went for a walk. Then it started pouring so we ran for cover under a tree and, well, she was laughing and looked wonderful, so I leaned over and kissed her," said Sirius, smiling.

"And?" asked James.

"And what?" asked Sirius, confused.

"How was it?" said Remus.

"Oh, wonderful, definitely worth waiting for," said Sirius with a dreamy-sort-of smile.

…...

"He kissed you!" yelled Elizabeth.

"Yep," said Alana, grinning as she used a towel to dry her hair.

"Oh…my…Merlin!" exclaimed Alice.

"I can't believe Alana Tortelli, who in September hated him, kissed Sirius Black!" said Lily, laughing.

"I know, he's definitely changed."

"I told you so!" cried Alice.

"By the way Alice," said Elizabeth, "What happened in the library that made you blush?"

"N-Nothing." said Alice, who had all of a sudden gotten quiet.

"It was not "Nothing"!" said Lily, smiling a smile worthy of the Marauders. "Frank tried to kiss her behind the bookshelves."

"He did not!" cried Alice, who was redder than ever.

"Aly," said Alana, "He had you up against a wall, his face inches from yours, holding your waist. If he wasn't trying to kiss you, then he's a dead man."

"No, I mean, it's not how it looked. I was reaching for a book in the Herbology section of the library when one book started growing vines and was about to attack me. Frank pushed me away and I ran into a wall, he tried to grab me from running into it, but couldn't and the force of the push made him fall into me," said Alice.

"All right, you got out of this one, but I still say he tried to kiss you because you know he likes you," said Lily in a sing-song voice.

"So, Liz," said Alana, trying to change the subject, "What happened after you stormed off."

Elizabeth told the girls everything that happened, except the part about the two- way parchment. As Alana listened to her sister's story, she knew her sister was back to normal.

…...

As December came, so did the snow. The first weekend snowed so the girls challenged the boys, minus Peter who received a weeks worth of detention from McGonagall for all his missed homework assignments, to a snowball fight. The fight stopped when Alana's snowball hit Severus Snape in the nose and he went to the nurse, cursing loudly.

The next Hogsmede weekend was coming up, as was the dance. The students were going to get their dress robes in Hogsmede at a new store called Elaine's Elegant Dress Robes.

"It has all the latest fashions," Alice told her friends.

On the day of the Hogsmede weekend, the girls went to the robe shop with their purses heavy with gold.

"May I help you ladies?" asked a sales associate.

"Yes," said Alana, "We're from Hogwarts and need dress robes for a masquerade ball."

"Ah, yes. Come with me, we have some lovely selections in the back of the store with some matching masks we just got in a few days ago. And, since you're Hogwarts students, you get a discount."

They spent the next two hours tying on robes, picking out accessories and their masks. Alana got red robes with a red mask and heels, Lily got green robes with a black mask and silver heels, Alice got purple robes with a gold mask and ballet flats, and Elizabeth got light blue robes with a white mask and silver wedges. They left their bags with the ladies who would bring them up to the castle instead of the girls lugging them around all day.

"I think we did all right," said Lily as the left the shops with much lighter purses that before. The girls looked at each other for a moment and laughed hysterically all the way down the main road.

_Author's Note: I know it's a short chapter so that's why I'm posting another after this. It's longer, I promise! :)_


	8. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: I don't own anything you know from Harry Potter. Sorry. :(_

Chapter 7

They had promised to meet the guys for lunch at the Three Broomsticks, so they headed out. They found the booth where they were sitting and went over.

"Finally!" called Frank.

"We thought you forgot about us!" said James.

"How long does it take to get an outfit?" said Sirius. Alana sat down next to him and elbowed him in the ribs playfully.

"Trust me, we made record time," laughed Lily.

"Hey, where's Peter?" asked Alice.

"Dunno," said Remus, "I haven't seen him since last night."

"Really?" said Sirius, putting his arm around Alana, "I haven't seen him since Monday."

They started talking about where Peter might be, but their food came and the subject was dropped. After the plates were taken away, Frank, Alice, James, and Lily went up to the castle, Sirius and Alana went to the lake, and Remus and Elizabeth walked around Hogsmede. They went into Honeydukes and then up to the Shrieking Shack.

"You know," Remus said quietly, "That's where I transform. It's not violent spirits the villagers hear, it's me."

"Oh," Elizabeth paused, climbed and sat on the fence, and looked at Remus, "Remus, you know I don't care that you have a "furry little problem", you're still my friend."

Remus climbed onto the fence and sat down next to Elizabeth.

"I know Elizabeth, that's what I like about you. You don't care about what a person is on the outside, you only care about what's one the inside."

She blushed a little. Remus reached out and touched her hand. She turned towards him, smiling slightly. She then realized he was getting closer, or was she moving towards him?

"Elizabeth," he whispered, "I want to be more than a friend."

"Me too," she whispered back.

She knew that both of them were moving towards each other.

…...

James and Lily were walking to the common room. As they turned the corner, James slipped and fell on the ground.

"Holy Merlin!" he yelled. The whole corridor was flooded. _Peeves,_ thought James angrily.

"James, are you okay?" asked Lily, reaching out her hand.

"Yeah, but that's going to hurt tomorrow," said James, rubbing his tailbone.

He grabbed her hand and got to his feet, but the force of pulling James up caused Lily to fall and James lost his balance and fell on Lily.

"Ouch!" cried Lily as James landed on her stomach.

"Oh, Lily, I'm sorry," said James apologetically.

He moved off her and found himself right near her face, with her bright green eyes looking up at him. He didn't know what made him do it, he just did. He swooped down and pecked her cheek. At first, James thought Lily was going to hit him. She stood up, James doing the same, looked at James, then leaned forward and kissed him. James, at first, didn't realize what was happening and then he leaned into the kiss. When they broke apart, Lily smiled and James grinned. He grabbed her hand and led her down the corridor. He found a broom closet and opened it.

"MERLIN!" yelled James.

In the closet were Severus Snape and Layna.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor and Slytherin," said Lily, recovering first, "Get out of here, both of you."

She watched as Snape and Layna walked down the corridor in opposite directions, Snape eyeing the two Gryffindors the entire way.

"I think," said James slowly, "I've been scarred for life. Boy, does she get around."

Lily laughed nervously. James looked at her.

"Lily, if you don't feel comfortable-"

"No James, its fine."

James smiled and led Lily into the closet, closing the door behind him.

…...

Frank and Alice were studying together when Sirius and Alana came into the library.

"Sorry to interrupt the study session," said Sirius, "But have you two seen the others?"

"No, aren't they in the common room?" asked Alice.

"That's what we thought, but they're not there," Alana said, looking worried.

"Al, it's going to be fine," said Sirius, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah, they'll turn up," said Frank.

They headed back to the common room and saw James sitting next to Lily with his arm around her shoulder.

"Where were you guys?" said James.

"We were looking for you!" said Frank, looking at James' arm with raised eyebrows.

"What were you two doing?" said Sirius, who also noticed the position James was in.

James and Lily looked at each other, then at the others.

"Well," whispered James, almost inaudible, "We took Alana's advice to Remus and, um, got a room."

The room erupted into shouts of approval and wolf-whistles.

"Congratulations you two," said Alana.

"Yeah James, it only took you seven years to do it," said Sirius, grinning widely.

"So, since you two were off in some closet," said Frank, making the two blush brightly, "I guess you haven't seen Remus and Elizabeth, right?"

"Yeah, not since lunch," said Lily, frowning slightly.

"Hey guys, look over here!" called Alice from the window.

Everyone went to the window and looked out. From the lights of the castle, they could make out two figures standing close together; one with sandy hair, the other with long black hair. Very quietly, Alana opened the window and leaned out.

"Yup, that's my sister and Remus," she whispered.

"Well, that took long enough," said James.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Sirius said, smiling his Marauder smile.

He whispered something to Alana, who thought for a moment and nodded, smiling too. Sirius started telling everyone the plan.

…...

It was a few minutes later that Remus and Elizabeth climbed through the portrait hole. They saw the dying embers of the fire and the empty room.

"Where is everyone?" asked Elizabeth, quietly.

"It must be later than we thought," said Remus.

He led Elizabeth over to a couch and sat down. After a while, Elizabeth turned to Remus.

"Remus, I better get to bed," she said.

She made to get up, but Remus held her back. "What, no good-nights?" he said smiling playfully.

He leaned over and kissed her. As soon as they touched, the fire leapt up and their friends came out from the shadows, or in James and Lily's case, from under the Invisibility Cloak. Remus and Elizabeth jumped and separated, turning a brick red.

"Don't mind us," said Sirius.

Elizabeth looked and saw everyone smiling. She turned to Remus, who was looking completely embarrassed and slightly confused.

"When you guys didn't turn up after a few hours," Alana said smiling at her sister, "We started looking for you."

"We saw you two from the window and thought we'd play a little prank on you," said Alice.

"So we sent away the other students," said Frank, "Put out the fire and hid in the shadows and James and Lily went under the Invisibility Cloak for a more," he paused, trying to find the right word, "_Private_ hiding spot."

"We hoped we'd catch you in the act, and we did," said Lily.

"You should have seen your faces!" said James, laughing.

They started laughing, but stopped when they saw Elizabeth and Remus' expressions.

"Remus, I told you this would happen!"

"Elizabeth-" started Remus, but was cut off.

"No, Remus. If they can't take us seriously," said Elizabeth, pointing to the shocked faces of her friends, "Then how can we take us seriously?"

"Elizabeth," said Alana, "I'm happy you're with Remus. And all of us," she looked around at the others for support, "Take you seriously.

"Yeah Remus, we're very-"

"GOT'CHA!" screamed Elizabeth and Remus together.

"W-What?" said James.

"We got you all so good." said Elizabeth, watching confusion on all the other's faces.

"You see," explained Remus, "Elizabeth and I lost track of the time and she told me you were going to get worried. So, seeing as I've spent seven years of my life as a Marauder, I decided to take advantage of the moment and play a joke. We knew that you would look out on the grounds, so we wondered the grounds, holding hands, kissing, etc. I knew that at least _one_ of you guys would think of a prank to get back at us for worrying you all. You are Marauders after all. We would just go with the flow and make up and argument that fit the situation, making you all get upset and then we'd tell you we were kidding."

There was silence and then James spoke. "Well Remus," said James seriously, "what you did was…TOTALLY AMAZING!"

"Really?" said Remus.

"That was an awesome prank you guys," said Lily.

"I'm proud to call you my sister," said Alana, giving her sister a hug, "And to call you my sister's boyfriend," she said to Remus.

Everyone congratulated Remus and Elizabeth. Alana was talking to her sister. "Hey Elizabeth!" she said, loudly so the others could hear. "Do you remember Uncle Benny?"

"Oh yeah!" said Elizabeth, smiling, "He was the best."

"Whose Uncle Benny?" asked Remus.

"Oh, just our uncle who used to be part of the Italian mafia," said Alana, calmly.

Remus looked at the twins. "Oh," he said in a would-be-calm voice.

"So here's a little warning for you, Lupin." said Alana in an undertone, eyes flaring, "If you ever, _ever_, hurt my sister like you did before, you'll have to deal with me, and the whole Italian mafia, got it?"

Remus nodded, looking pale and answered, "You know though, I would never hurt your sister again."

"You better not," she said, glaring at him. "Well good night everyone!" she said, smiling.

_Author's Note: Haha, gotta love over-protective older sisters! The reason I did a double update was because I'm leaving for a retreat until Friday and I can't update until then. Hopefully this makes up for it. So, until Friday, enjoy these chapters and please take the time to review. I always read them and will even answer you back once I come back from the retreat! Don't forget if you have any questions at all to PM me. Thank you! :)_


	9. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: No, I'm not J.K Rowling so therefore I don't own Harry Potter. You've caught me._

Chapter 8

_She was walking hand-in-hand with Frank by the lake, just enjoying the silence. They stopped and he took her other hand. He was leaning in, getting closer and closer…_

"Alice, wake up!" yelled Lily.

"Come on Aly, today's the day!" said Elizabeth.

"The one, the only…" said Alana.

"One Thousandth Anniversary Masquerade!" they screamed.

"I'm up, I'm up!" said Alice smiling. She loved her friends, even though they acted insane. This was one of those times when they showed their insanity.

They decided to spend the day getting ready. Lily did the nails, Alice did the hair and Lily's nails, Alana did the makeup, and Elizabeth did Alice's hair and Alana's makeup. By the time all this was accomplished, they barely got to the Great Hall on time.

"Where is he?" Alana asked, more to herself.

"Al!" said Lily, "You're not supposed to be _looking_ for people."

"Well, I can't help it if I only want to dance with my boyfriend," said Alana, straining her neck. They had been officially boyfriend and girlfriend for a little less than a month and Al was happier than anyone had ever seen her.

The conversation ended with the sound of music. The band hired to the event was the rock and roll boy-band "The Warlocks". Alana made her way through the crowd looking for Sirius. After two songs, she decided to get a drink in the hopes she would see him by the watering hole. She grabbed a butterbeer and sat down at a nearby table.

"Would you like to dance?" a voice said.

Alana looked up and saw a boy with long black hair and dark eyes.

"Of course!" said Alana, thinking it was Sirius.

She took the boy's hand and was led onto the dance floor. As the song went on, however, the boy's hands were moving lower that she felt comfortable with.

"Sirius, stop that!" she yelled over the music.

"Who's Sirius?" the boy asked.

Alana froze. Then the boy pulled her closer and she tried to get away. The more she fought, the tighter the grip became.

"Get off of me!" she cried.

But the boy held on, now starting to put his face close to hers and she could smell alcohol in his breath.

"You're drunk!" she said.

Fighting harder than she had in her life, she started trying to stomp on his toes. Then she felt the boy's grip slacken and then he let go. Panting, she looked up and saw another boy dragging the other into the Entrance Hall. She followed them and watched as the boy who saved her picked up the drunk and threw him out the door to the grounds.

"And stay out!" he called.

As he turned to Alana, the boy on the ground raised his wand.

"_Expelliarmus!_" yelled Alana, pointing her wand at the drunken boy.

The boy's wand flew out of his hand and he stumbled after it. Alana grabbed her rescuer and pulled him into the Great Hall.

"Thanks for saving me," Alana said.

"No problem, I should be thanking you," the boy said.

She smiled and the boy smiled back. She knew that smile…

"Sirius!" exclaimed Alana.

"Yep, that's me. I saw what he was doing to you and I had to do something. I won't let anyone mess around with you," he said seriously, "Besides, you sister would kill me if anything happened to you," he added jokingly.

Alana laughed. "Don't forget the Italian mafia," she said giggling.

"Oh, yes, how could I forget that?" he said, shuddering.

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. She knew she was going to have the best Christmas Eve.

…...

Elizabeth was sitting at a table, drinking a butterbeer with a book on her lap. She had been asked to dance many times, but none had the sandy hair and brown eyes she was looking for. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone sit down and sighed audibly, hoping this would be a sign that she was busy.

"What are you reading?" said the person who had just sat down.

She looked up, annoyed. "Nothing you'd be interested in," she said rather rudely. The boy had brown hair and blue eyes so it wasn't Remus. This boy was probably just trying to chat her up in order to dance and make-out with her. They all had tried it before.

"Try me," he said, flirtatiously.

She looked at him with the raised eyebrow look that made her sister famous.

"All right then, _Romeo and Juliet_. Do you even know who the author is?"

"William Shakespeare, it's a tragic love story of two teenagers whose families forbid them to see each other, yet they manage to, get married, and both die out of their love for one another," the boy said smiling.

Elizabeth stared, too shocked to speak. "Lucky guess, you're probably Muggle-born," she muttered, but still stared at the boy, "You know, not many wizard boys your age would know that."

"I guess you could call me a book worm," he said, "Or you could call me Moony."

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide, and then flared up. "You're not Moony!" she said angrily, "You're just trying to use that name to get me to dance with you! You don't even have the same hair and eye color!"

"All right then, ask me a question only Moony would know," said the boy.

She thought for a moment, and then smiled.

"What does the nickname Moony stand for?"

"It stands for the moon because," he lowered his voice as he said, "Every full moon, I turn into a werewolf. My friend's nicknames stand for the animals they can turn into. Padfoot a dog, Wormtail a rat, and Prongs a stag."

He finished, folding his arms on his chest, waiting. He could see a war raging in her mind. How could he know that if he wasn't Remus? But it didn't look like him.

"I used magic to change my hair and eye color, I swear," he said.

"But why would you need to do that?" she asked suspiciously.

"To see how you'd react to another guy who would pretend to be me," he said, "I know this is morbid for a dance but times are changing out there and I want to know that you know how to react if someone was trying to pull the wool over your eyes. Look, come on."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the outside gardens and behind a tree. He took his mask off and pointed his wand at his head. Slowly, the hair turned a sandy color and the eyes back to brown. Remus Lupin stood before her.

"It is you!" she cried, hugging him.

They stood there for a while in each others' arms and then Remus spoke.

"Come on, enough pranks, this is a dance you know."

They walked back to the dance, holding hands.

…...

Alice was leaning against a wall watching Alana and Sirius, and Elizabeth and Remus dancing. She hadn't seen Lily since before the music started. She had been asked to dance by a few boys, but had left half-way though because, to put in kindly, they were horrible dancers or they were too drunk to dance.

_Is it too much to ask for a sober dancer who's actually good? _she thought with an annoyed sighed.

"Why are you sighing?" asked a brown haired boy.

"Just wondering if it's too much to ask for a good, sober dancer?" said Alice, glancing side-ways at the boy.

"Well, I don't know about a good dancer, but I promise you I've only had one butterbeer," said the boy smiling.

"Well then," said Alice, grinning "Let's see how good you really are."

…...

James and Lily were walking though the outdoor gardens. They had found each other before the first song ended and they danced until they got too hot.

"It's turning out to be a great dance," said Lily.

"Yeah, all thanks to you," said James, "You were great putting this all together."

"You helped too!" said Lily, blushing.

"Yes, but you're the one who got the band, put up the decorations, and all the other stuff. I just did what you told me to," said James.

They walked over to a bench by one of the fountains and sat down.

"James," Lily said after a while, "I just want you to know that you're a really great guy. You're smart, funny, and a good friend. I'm just sorry I didn't realize how great you were sooner. You could've had any girl in the entire school, yet you wanted me and I kept telling you no. Why, after all I did, did you still want to go out with me?"

James was silent for a minute, and answered, "Lily, I've liked you since I met you. Sure, I could've had any girl, but I didn't want "any girl", I wanted you. Even if you didn't go out with me when I asked you in October, I'd have kept waiting until you said yes."

"But why me? What's so special about me that you would wait forever?"

"Why you? Because you're pretty, smart, and I feel like I can tell you anything and you'll try to help me. Because, I now realize, I love you Lily Evans."

"W-what?" stuttered Lily

"I-I love you," said James, "Ever since I met you, all you had to do was walk into a room and my pulse would quicken and my palms would sweat. If you told me to do something, except to shove off that is, I'd do anything to make sure I did it right."

Lily was silent. She didn't know what to say. She finally pulled herself together.

"James, ever since I've met you, all you had to do was look at me and I'd melt. Every time I said no, I couldn't look at your face and see your pain. Every time you smiled, my heart fluttered," Lily said smiling, "I think, James Potter," she whispered, drawing close to him, "I love you too."

James looked at her and smiled. He leaned in and kissed her.

…...

"Thank you all for coming here tonight," said the lead singer of The Warlocks, "Hope you all had a great time, and now, the moment you all been waiting for…the last dance! After the song ends, we'll count down to midnight. Once the last bell sounds, your masks will be completely off and you'll see who your partner is. So good night Hogwarts, and a Merry Christmas to you all!"

The band picked a slow song and started to play. Alice was still dancing with the brown haired boy. She found they had a lot in common. They both came from all Wizarding families, were in the same year, loved to watch, but not play, Quidditch, and they both decided not to tell each other their name or their house until the masks came off. The song ended and the countdown began.

"10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!"

The bell sounded. By the eighth ring, Alice began to feel her mask disappear. The twelfth ring sounded and Alice looked up. Staring down at her was Frank Longbottom, smiling.

"It was you the whole time!" said Alice.

"Yeah, it was," he said.

"Frank…"

"Yes Alice?" The gap between them was shrinking.

"I just wanted you to know…"

"Yes?" The gap was almost gone.

"You're a great dancer," she whispered.

They were close now. Frank was bending down, inches from Alice's face.

"Hey guys!" called Sirius.

Frank silently cursed Sirius. Alice swore to herself that Sirius was going to suffer her wrath.

"What's up you two?" asked Alana, coming over.

"Nothing," growled Frank.

"Oh…um…sorry," said Sirius, realizing what they were about to do.

They walked away, but the moment was gone.

"We'd better get back to the common room," said Frank forlornly.

"Yeah, I guess," sighed Alice.

Frank held out his arm and Alice took it, wondering what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted. Then she started thinking of which hex would inflict the most pain of Sirius.

_Author's Note: Aw, another fluff filled chapter. I know you guys must feel like your drowning in fluff but please stick with it because I promise the fluff will die away. Also, the serious lack of reviews is kinda bumming me out. Even if you don't like it, tell me so and I'll do my best to fix whatever is bothering you. If I don't know what you guys like or don't like about the story, I don't know where to go with it. So please review because I'm kind of getting the feeling I should stop with the story, which would be a shame because I had a lot in store for it. Thank you._


	10. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter or its characters._

Chapter 9

James woke up to the sound of Sirius shouting "PRESENTS!" James groaned and rolled over. He looked at his watch on the bedside table, it read six in the morning.

"Sirius!" came the muffled voice of Remus, who must have pulled the blankets over his head. "I know this is very hard for you, but please, SHUT UP!"

"I know you don't mean that Moony, its Christmas morning…presents…the girls are coming in half an hour.

That got them all up. There was a mad dash to the bathroom, James shoving Frank out of the way, while Remus and Peter watched, smirking as Frank fell to the floor, banging on the bathroom door. Sirius laughed and sat next to Remus.

"You aren't in a rush?"

"Elizabeth and Alana always spend Christmas with their parents. She probably left early this morning," he said, realizing she hadn't said good-bye.

There was a knock on the door and Peter got up to get it. Lily, Alice, Alana, and, to Remus immense surprise, Elizabeth were standing there, using their wands to levitate the presents into the room.

"Oh, by the way Remus, I forgot to tell you, Liz is coming over to open gifts," said Sirius, trying unsuccessfully to keep a straight face.

"Liz, Al, what are you doing here?" Frank asked surprised.

"Our parents decided to go to Italy for Christmas, to visit family," said Elizabeth, looking upset.

"But why didn't you go?" asked Peter, tilting his head.

"Because we weren't invited!" said Alana angrily.

There was silence. Alana sighed.

"Sorry Peter, I didn't mean to flare up like that," she apologized, "It's just that we only found out last night, except not from our parents. We got a letter from our step-grandma, the one who's a witch but technically not related to us, asking us where we were. She said our parents told the family we were not allowed to leave school because we received too many detentions but she knew better and wrote to us.

"Ever since we got our letter, our parents have stopped doing things with us," she paused, her eyes wet, "Over the summer, we just stay home while our parents fly to Timbuktu or whatever, leaving us to look after the house. They look at us differently, talk to us like we don't speak English, and yell at us every time something goes wrong. If we didn't have each other and you all to talk to, we'd probably go insane. They were even thinking of sending us to a Muggle boarding school in America instead of here, but we talked them out of it."

She looked up at the others and continued, "While they were away last summer, my sister and I found an apartment for cheap rent. Once we leave school, that's where we're going to live. We can't stand to be under the same roof as them anymore."

Silence filled the room again, but there was an air of sadness as well. Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"Guys, I'm sorry, but now you're going to have the best Christmas ever with us, right guys?" he turned to the others.

"Of course!" they shouted.

And so, everyone started opening gifts, laughing and talking to each other as they tried to cheer the twins up. One thing they all noticed was there were no gifts from Peter. Finally, Alana said something.

"Um, Peter, I don't mean to be rude, but did you get us anything?" she asked.

"I was hoping you would ask," he said smiling, "I've been working on a surprise project for all you guys. Follow me."

He grabbed his cloak and opened the door, everyone else followed. They came to the corridor where Alana saw the door appear and watched as Peter paced the corridor three times. Once again a door appeared, and they followed Peter in. There on the floor were eight gifts, all in different boxes.

"Each one of you has to open a box and guess who the gift is for," said Peter, smiling, "Just a fun way to spread the holiday cheer."

Each person ran towards a box and started to open it. Lily opened a bookshelf with "Starry Night" painted on it.

"This must be for Remus!" said Lily.

Remus looked at the bookshelf in amazement. "Peter, did you paint this?" he asked.

"Yeah, and it expands to fit all your books on it. Now you'll never have to put you books on the ground."

Next, Alana opened a Nimbus 1000. "Wow, James I think this is yours!" she cried.

James was speechless. "How…when…?" he stuttered.

"My cousin works at the manufacturing company. He gave this to me, but I thought you'd use it more that I would," said Peter.

Elizabeth opened a full length mirror with funny quotes about dating all around the mirror. "Al, this is definitely for you."

Alana stood in front of the mirror, but jumped back as it spoke to her.

"Dear, fix your hair, you look like you just rolled out of bed." it said.

"It…It talks," Alana said.

"Yep, my mom showed me how to do it. It gives advice about how you look, just to have another person's opinion," said Peter.

Remus opened a camera, complete with a stack of photo albums. "Liz, look!" he said.

Liz, who loved photography, let out a shriek. "This is a Nikon! Where did you get it?"

"Um, I didn't know it was that great, my grandmother bought it for my grandfather last year, but he never used it, so he let me have it."

James opened a book that read _How to Get the Girl of Your Dreams_. "Um, Frank, this is for you," said James.

Frank took it, read the cover, and turned a light shade of brick red.

"Thought it might come in handy," said Peter, "Be sure to read chapter five, it tells you how to deal with, er, interruptions."

Frank turned to his gift and opened a beautiful bracelet with animal charms all over it, both magical and Muggle ones alike.

"Alice, this one is yours," said Frank.

Alice smiled as Frank put it on, looking at all the charms. She then opened her gift. Inside was a plaque that had an engraving of a cauldron and words on top of it. They were _To Lily, the True Potions Master_.

Alice laughed at all the times Lily had to correct Professor Slughorn about the ingredients in Potions and handed the plaque to Lily.

"Don't let Professor Slughorn see this," James said to Lily.

"It's true though," said Peter, "You could definitely give him a run for his money."

Finally Sirius opened his own gift, which was the largest. He had to put the box on its side so he could see inside. There he saw a motorcycle. He pulled it out and swung his leg over its side. He stared at it, then at Peter.

"Thank you Wormtail," was all he could say.

"It flies you know," said Peter, "My uncle is an engineer, he designed it and I just added some magical touches to it to make it fly."

Everyone went and thanked Peter for their gifts saying this was the best Christmas ever. They walked back to the common room with their gifts, except for Sirius', which they decided to leave there until they thought of a better place to hide it.

Alice went to her dormitory to relax. While her friends were talking, she grabbed her ice skates and went to the lake. It was bitter cold out, but Alice didn't mind, she enjoyed ice skating in that weather. No wind, but still cold enough for the ice to be nice and hard. She had been out there for a while and started doing some tricks. She had just slowed down, when she heard clapping to her left. She turned in shock, but saw Frank and smiled, skating over to him.

"I give that a 10," he said.

"Please, that was terrible, I was just practicing," she said, her cheeks red, and not completely from the cold.

"Well, I can't even skate," Frank said.

"Oh really?" asked Alice, taking out her wand and making a pair of skates appear, "Then I'm just going to have to teach you."

Frank slipped the skates on and walked onto the ice, trying not to lose his balance.

"Here, grab my arm," said Alice.

They skated around the lake a few times, then Alice let go and watched as Frank skated by himself. She laughed as he performed antics and skated over to him, stopping so ice would spray him.

"You said you couldn't skate," said Alice, putting her hands on her hips and laughing as Frank rubbed bits of ice out off his face.

"I can't roller skate, not ice skate," said Frank, teasingly.

Alice slapped his arm and they continued skating around the lake, laughing and talking. Finally, they took off their skates and put on their snow boots. As they stood up, Frank saw Alice leaning against the tree, smiling at him, her hair wet from snow and sweat, cheeks red from the cold. An odd feeling ran through Frank, all he wanted to do was push her up against the tree and kiss her. He could do it now; there was no one else around.

"Frank?" said Alice, calling him out of his thoughts.

"Yes Alice?" he asked, looking at her and trying to control himself.

"I had a good time," she said, "I always have a good time when I'm with you."

That was all Frank needed. He took two steps toward her, grabbing her waist, and pushing her up against the tree. He leaned in and kissed her, waiting for her reaction. At first, she did nothing, but then when she realized what was happening, she returned it passionately. Finally Frank could let Alice know how he felt without any interruptions. How long they were there, they didn't know. All they knew was they were with each other and that was all that mattered.

_Author's Note: Okay, well no one has told me to stop this story so I'm just going to keep on going because I hate having to end stories. I was away for a while so now I'm back and updates will be quicker. I know the last few chapters have been overly fluffy but there is a reason for it, I promise. Later on, you'll see why. Now that almost all the characters are paired up, I'm planning on showing how each one deals with the trials they have to face ahead. For those of you out there who have stuck with this story, thank you so much! A huge shout out to _Lone Fairytale _for your review, this chapter is for you. Reviews are greatly appreciated, as always, so tell me exactly what you think. CC is also welcomed! Thank you! :)_


	11. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: If I owned Harry Potter, then I'd be one of the richest women in the world living in England. However, I'm not. It stinks. :(_

Chapter 10

Peter was walking around the castle, proud of himself. He managed to get all his friends the perfect gift. He walked into the Entrance Hall and stopped. There was a girl standing in the Hall, looking lost. She had wavy dirty blonde hair and deep blue eyes. She was holding a suitcase and was not wearing any robes but Muggle clothing. Peter walked up to the girl.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

She turned to him and smiled gratefully, saying, "Yes, I'm looking for Professor Dumbledore's office."

Peter paused for a moment, lost in her blue eyes. "Um, uh, here, er, follow me," he said.

He took her suitcase from her, even though she protested, and headed off to the Headmaster's office. He decided to try and start a conversation, but nothing was coming to mind. All he could think about were those eyes. Finally, he decided to wing it. What would Sirius do?

"So, what are you doing here? I mean, I've never seen you around here before," he said.

"Oh, well I guess you've never seen me because I just got here," the girl said, quickening her pace to walk next to Peter, "My family just moved to England a week ago, we used to live in France but before then we lived in America. We only moved to France when I got accepted to a school there. Have you ever heard of Beaubaton's Academy?" Peter nodded and she continued, "That's where I used to go."

"I see," Peter said, noticing a very light French accent, "Is it nice there?"

"Not in the least," the girl said, shaking her head, "All the girls are horrible and nasty. They used to make fun of my accent. I hope this school's better."

"Oh, I think everyone here is very nice, except the Slytherins. You're going to want to avoid them," said Peter with a grin.

"You have houses here too! At Beaubaton's we had houses but they were all in French and I could never pronounce them. What are the others?"

So Peter began telling the new girl about the houses, which led to the subject of Quidditch, which got Peter talking about his friends and all their antics. He had gotten the girl in stitches when they reached the gargoyles guarding the Headmaster's office.

"Well, this is it," Peter said, waving an arm to the gargoyles, "I don't know the password to get in but I could run and get a teacher who knows it."

"That's all right, Professor Dumbledore gave me the password before I came. Thank you for everything, I hope to see you soon. What's your name by the way?"

"Peter, Peter Pettigrew. I'm in Gryffindor House. What's yours?" he asked.

"I'm Lindsay O'Riley. No house yet, but hopefully soon. Thanks again, I'll take my suitcase," she said.

Peter handed the suitcase over and wished Lindsay good luck. She smiled and Peter's heart skipped a beat. As he walked away, all he thought about were blue eyes and beautiful smiles.

...

"I can't believe that was our last Christmas at Hogwarts!" Alice said, leaning her head on Frank's shoulder at the breakfast table.

"Don't worry guys, even after we leave we'll still see each other." Alana said as she chewed her toast, "And if I don't know where you live, I'll get my Uncle Benny to find you."

This made everyone laugh. While Peter was laughing, he suddenly froze and dropped his fork on the ground. He dived down to pick it up and heard a voice call his name from above. His head shot up and whacked the table with a loud _THUNK!_

"Lindsay," he said, rubbing his throbbing head, "What are you doing here?"

"Um, eating breakfast. Can I sit with you?" she asked nervously.

"Of course," Sirius said with a smile, "I'm Sirius Black."

Lindsay smiled and pulled up a chair in front of Peter. Once everyone introduced themselves, they began asking her questions about her old school.

"I hope Hogwarts is better though," said Lindsay, "Peter was telling me all about it and it seems wonderful."

"So you're the new Gryffindor!" said Alice happily, "I saw your things in our room this morning but no one was there! Congratulations, Gryffindor is the best house here!"

"So I've heard," said Lindsay with a smile at Peter, "I've also heard that this is the group to be with if you love mischief?"

"Finally, someone who understands us!" said Sirius and Alana nudged him in the sides.

"And what are we, chopped liver?"

"No, you're to pretty to be that."

Everyone went, "AWW!" while Sirius kissed Alana's forehead. Alana felt eyes on her and turned to see a group of Gryffindor sixth years glaring at her with such fury that Alana was surprised her skin wasn't melting off. Sirius saw where she was looking and picked Alana up and placed her in his lap.

"Like when we first met," he whispered and said to the other girls, "It's a free country you know, I can date whoever I want without your approval so just piss off!"

The girls looked highly affronted and stormed off. Their group just laughed and Lindsay looked at her schedule thoughtfully.

"It says I have Charms first period, is anyone heading there?" she asked.

Everyone shook their heads apologetically but Peter said, "Yeah, I'll show you where it is." Lindsay gave him an appreciative smile and Peter felt his stomach flip again.

Once they were finished their breakfast, Lindsay and Peter walked to the Charms classroom. The corridors weren't very full because a lot of the students were still eating. They reached the door and Peter stopped, holding it open for Lindsay.

"I don't have class here," he explained, "I'm down the hall at Ancient Runes. I should probably get going."

"Thank you Peter," Lindsay said sweetly, "I really appreciate this. I was hoping that maybe, if you don't mind, you could help me find my classes today?"

"S-Sure, I don't mind at all," said Peter, "I'll see you after class then?"

"Great!" she replied and watched Peter leave. The smile on her face disappeared and she rolled her eyes. "I can't believe how easy this is."

"Just don't mess this up," a cold voice said from the shadows. Lucius Malfoy came out from behind a suit of armor and stayed close to the shadows.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Lindsay asked, crossing her arms across her chest, "Even if he doesn't suspect anything, his friends are smart."

"Do your job right and you won't have to worry about that," Malfoy sneered, "Use means of persuasion to keep him quiet."

"Ugh, I wish he was at least semi-good looking," she mumbled and Malfoy chuckled evilly and disappeared into the shadows. Lindsay sighed and went into the classroom.

…...

"What time is it now?" Sirius asked as he lounged on the couch with Frank and his fellow Marauders, minus Peter that is.

"Well, it's three whole minutes since you last asked so _now_ it's eleven forty-eight," Remus said, wiping his dry eyes tiredly.

"Where the hell is Peter?" James cried out in annoyance, "This is ridiculous!"

"I think we should follow the girls' lead and go to bed," said Frank after a huge yawn, "This _is_ getting ridiculous."

"And you're sure he's not on the map?" Remus asked James and the other boy sighed as he checked the paper.

"Still not, and I've kept my eye on it for the past three hours," James replied.

"Did he say where he was going before he left?" Frank asked, stretching and turning to lay on his back on the floor by the fire.

"Just that he'd be back in a little bit," said Sirius with annoyance, "Five hours is not a "little bit" in my book! Merlin, when I see him I swear I'm going to murder him!"

"Haven't you noticed a change in him though?" Remus asked, "He's been a lot more irritable and snappy lately."

"Yeah, and he hasn't left Lindsay's side since she got here," Frank added, "He follows her around like a lost puppy. It's been going on for weeks and it's getting ridiculous."

"Al was telling me that girl's a real bitch," said Sirius, "She has no respect for any of the other girls and treats her, her sister, and Lily like dirt. She's better with Alice but not much."

"What does he see in her then?" James asked, "Sure, she's kind of pretty but not when she looks like she's smelling poop whenever she's around us. And I don't like that she keeps Peter away from us, as if she thinks she's better company for him."

"So…do we tell him what we think?" Frank asked, looking around. There was a pause and all the boys said, "No" at the same time.

"This whole thing might blow over and things'll go back to normal," said James hopefully.

They nodded and kept their vigil until all of them were fast asleep. At two thirty, the portrait hole opened and Peter walked in quietly with Lindsay. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and headed up to her dormitory. Peter shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking to his own dormitory when he saw four figures lying by the fire. He looked closer and saw they were his friends. Had they been waiting up for him?

_They probably fell asleep while planning something without me,_ he thought darkly.

The reason he was so late was because he and Lindsay had been talking. Lindsay told him that she thought his friends were extremely rude to him and thought he deserved better.

"Lindsay, that's nonsense!" he said with a laugh, "My friends are the best I could ask for, James, Sirius, and Remus especially. Why would you say something like that?"

"I see how they treat you all the time. You're always the odd one out because they all are in relationships and they do nothing to make you feel included," she said sadly, "They treat you like you're invisible and never ask your opinion on anything. They don't treat you like a good friend should."

"That's not entirely true," said Peter, but he was frowning.

Lindsay smiled, this really was too easy! She put on a sympathetic face and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You know it's true Peter, they don't appreciate what an amazing person you really are. They're too busy with their girlfriends to care about how you feel. You deserve so much better."

Hearing Lindsay say those things, Peter thought of all the times he and the Marauders would work on pranks and they would never listen to his ideas. When he would try to voice his opinion on a subject, they would dismiss him with a wave of their hands. With a jolt, he realized she was telling the truth. They really weren't good friends at all.

Peter sighed heavily and trudged up to his dormitory and climbed into bed. He sat staring at his canopy and felt like someone had ripped his very heart out. He considered them his best friends, the only ones he trusted with his whole heart. But now he saw them for what they were: self-absorbed bastards who used him repeatedly. Peter rolled on his side and closed his eyes, trying to keep the tears he felt coming up. Eventually he fell asleep, a single tear rolling down his face and absorbing into the pillow.

_Author's Note: I'd really like to know what you think of how Peter is portrayed in the story. Trust me, I hate his guts just as much as the next Marauder fan, but I always wondered how a boy who seemed so loyal to his friends could go about wanting them all dead. This is what I came up with and you'll see much more if you keep reviewing. Remember the Golden Rule of fanfiction, reviews=updates. Well, I don't actually know if that's the Golden Rule of fanfiction but it's pretty close! So please tell me what you think by sending me one of those lovely little reviews. CC is loved and appreciated as well. :D_


	12. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: I wish I owned Harry Potter but, alas, I do not._

Chapter 11

January was a blur for the seventh year Gryffindors. It seemed that the New Year brought a new Peter. He became cold and distant from his former friends, completely cutting himself off. No one could see why his demeanor would change so drastically except that it had something to do with Lindsay O'Reilly.

Alana and Elizabeth were sitting in their room when the girl of the hour came in. Alana muttered something that sounded like, "Her Majesty the queen bitch has arrived" and Elizabeth snorted. Lindsay turned and saw them, giving them an evil-like smile.

"Hello ladies," she said and Elizabeth shuddered. Her tone was like honeyed ice.

"Should we get down on our knees and worship you or click our heels together and shout "Heil Hitler"?" Alana asked, her eyes burning furiously.

"Neither, not yet at least."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth asked, frowning.

"Well, let's just say that you better enjoy your freedom now Mudbloods," Lindsay said in the same tone, "Because you aren't going to have it much longer."

"Why don't you stop talking in riddles and spit it out already?" said Alana, rising to her feet and whipping out her wand, "Better yet, why don't you just shut your trap?"

"Al, don't let her get to you," Liz said, putting a hand on her sister's shoulder and glaring furiously at the other girl, "Let's get out of here."

"Yeah, you better listen to your sister Al," said Lindsay mockingly.

"Just leave us the hell alone and we'll do the same," said Alana with so much venom that Elizabeth was surprised it wasn't spurting out of her teeth like a snake.

The twins left the room and down the stairs to find their friends by their normal place in front of the fire. February was turning out to be just as frigid as the previous months and the fire was the only thing from turning the Gryffindors into icicles. Remus saw the twins first, but frowned at Alana's glowering face.

"What happened?" he asked as Elizabeth sat down beside him.

"O'Reilly, that's what!" Alana spat as she took her place next to Sirius, "She's so condescending and rude and…URGH!"

"Don't let her get to you Al," said Sirius, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer to him, "Come on, cheer up! Do you know what tomorrow is?"

"February fourteenth, what's so special about that day?" she replied and Liz knew she was joking around. Apparently though, Sirius didn't.

"Have you forgotten when Valentine's Day is?" he cried out, appalled, "You know, the day when people share little red heart-shaped cards and candy and-"

Everyone was laughing and Sirius stopped. He saw the playful look in his girlfriend's eye and he started laughing too.

"Of course I knew it was Valentine's Day silly!" Alana said happily, "How could I forget? I've had Alice reminding me for the past month."

Alice blushed violently and mumbled something quietly. Frank whispered something to Alice and she smiled. Elizabeth sighed happily as she leaned against Remus. She really hoped he liked what she had gotten him. It was a box of all his favorite Honeydukes candies that she had picked out and wrapped herself. She thought it looked pretty nice and Lily told her it looked like she had bought the box at a store.

"James, what did you get me for Valentine's Day?" asked Lily innocently, hoping to catch him off guard.

"Damn, I knew I forgot something!" he said jokingly, "I'm not going to tell you Lily, you'll find out soon enough."

"Please," she pleaded, pouting. James laughed and kissed her forehead, but was very resolute in keeping the secret.

"You'll just have to wait like the rest of us Lils," Al said with a grin when Lily had finally given up.

"You'll survive," said Alice, "It's only less than twenty-four hours."

The next day, Elizabeth woke up early so she could use the bathroom first. She really wanted today to be special for her and Remus. They had been going out for a couple months now and she knew he was someone special. She had realized a couple weeks ago that she was in love with Remus Lupin and didn't care who knew it. Elizabeth was shocked at the second part of that realization. She usually kept her emotions to herself and didn't like other people knowing exactly how she felt. But this was different, she was in love.

Coming out of the bathroom, she saw a line to get in. Al shoved Lindsay out of the way and dashed in before the other girl realized what happened. Liz just sniggered and sat on her bed until her friends were ready. Once they were, she grabbed her gift and headed to the common room. The boys weren't there yet so they waited and talked by the fire.

"You think Frank will like his watch?" Alice asked nervously, holding a beautifully wrapped box.

"Aly, you've asked us that a billion times," said Lily patiently, "He'd have to be crazy not to love it. I think James will like my gift."

Elizabeth smiled. Lily had gotten a small model of a Quidditch field with players and balls so James could make game plans without having to use random objects he found around the common room.

"Yeah, that was a smart idea," said Alana, "I got Sirius new Quidditch gloves so now he can stop complaining about his old ones."

"You're a saint!" said Lily, laughing, "I was getting so pissed off every time it came up."

Just then, the boys came running down the stairs and the girls grinned. However, they realized something was wrong the minute they came down. James and Sirius were supporting an unconscious Remus while Frank ran in front of them. James' hair was messier than normal and Sirius had the beginnings of a black eye. Elizabeth gasped and strode over as they laid him on a couch.

"What happened?" she asked frantically.

"We had to knock him out," said James, "He was getting so damn annoying!"

Elizabeth looked up in horror and slapped James' arm furiously. "What the hell do you mean by that?" she asked.

"We found a box of chocolates outside our door this morning," Frank explained, "They were addressed to Remus and were, well…signed by you. He ate a couple before breakfast because he said we were taking too long to get ready and started ranting about how much he loved Layna Delucci."

"We tried to calm him down," said Sirius, "But he kept getting more and more agitated. I probably shouldn't have called her a slutty bitch. He punched me in the face and James stunned him. Look Liz, if this is some idea of a sick joke then I'm-"

"I didn't do this!" Elizabeth cried, shaking the box she had in her hands, "_This_ was meant for Remus, I wanted to give it to him in person. Layna must've done this, oh Merlin I swear there's going to be a corpse in this common room by the end of today!"

"Liz, it's going to be all right," said Lily calmingly and turned to James, "How much did he eat?"

"The entire box," said James forlornly, "He was really hungry and I bet the chocolates were enchanted to make him want them all."

"Let me see the box," Lily said and Frank handed a large box to her. She looked it over and sniffed it. She sighed and continued, "It's Amortentia, a very strong love potion. With that much in him, he'll be Mr. Loverboy until Monday at the earliest. Don't worry, I can make an antidote and he'll be back to normal. Come on, we'll go to the dungeons now."

Elizabeth nodded, shaking slightly. Lily said the others should stay and she and Elizabeth could take Remus to the dungeons. She didn't want too many people crowding her as she worked. She didn't work well under pressure. So the two girls each took an arm and half carried half dragged their friend to the dungeons. It was pretty early and the corridors were empty of students so no one questioned them along the way. They had to stop every ten minutes to rest because, although Remus was thinner than the other Marauders, he was still heavy for the two of them. Finally, they reached the dungeons and Lily went into the first classroom. She took a deep breath and smiled. She loved the smell of a potions classroom.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be doing this?" Elizabeth asked as they set Remus down at the teacher's desk so he could lean against something.

"No, but it's better than asking Slughorn for help," said Lily, shuddering as she continued, "Then I'd have to do him a favor and go to one of those stupid Slug Club parties. I can't stand those things!"

"Neither can I," said Liz, "It's just a bunch of weirdos sitting around and talking about their family. Plus Al is never invited so it's so boring!"

Lily laughed as she pulled out a book on the shelf and found the potion, grabbed the ingredients, and started chopping. She had never brewed an antidote for a love potion before and hoped it would be all right. How wrong she was.

Everything needed to be exact and not a hair could be out of place. Lily was sure she could brew it if she had help, but Elizabeth was in no state to lend a hand. Besides, they needed someone to watch Remus and make sure when he woke up that he stayed calm. The redhead wiped her sweating brow and cursed furiously as she had to dump the potion for the fourth time. Liz was eyeing her friend cautiously.

"Lils, maybe we should just brace ourselves for a Slug Club party and ask Slughorn for help," she said quietly.

Lily groaned loudly and slammed the cauldron on the table. Words could not describe how frustrated she was right then. She knew she could brew it, but not alone. She was tempted to just ask Liz but one look at her pale, drawn face told Lily it wouldn't work.

"Okay," she said with annoyance as she got up and walked to the door, "Maybe I'll pretend to be sick that night so I won't have to-"

Lily opened the door and almost ran into someone who was walking in. She quickly jumped back and looked up to see Severus Snape standing before her, looking as shocked as she felt. It had been a long time since she had been in close proximity to Snape. Ever since that day when he called her a Mudblood, she had only seen him from a distance or during their Potions classes. He was much taller now, a whole head taller than her, but other than that he was exactly the same. His hair was still long and greasy, his nose still hooked, his skin still pale.

"Lily? What are you doing down here?" he asked.

"What else would I be doing down here besides brewing potions?" she retorted coldly. She had never forgiven Snape for what he had said to her those two years ago.

"You do realize that it's a Saturday and we don't have class until Monday, right?" said Snape with raised eyebrows. He surveyed the room and saw Elizabeth sitting at the desk next to the unconscious Remus and his lip curled. "What has Lupin gotten himself into this time?"

"That's none of your business," said Liz angrily, gripping the wand she had in her pocket tightly.

"Look, we don't have time for this right now," Lily said, her annoyance rising with each passing second, "I need to find Professor Slughorn now so if you would please move out of the way, I would greatly appreciate it."

"He's not here today," Snape said, "He left last night for a family reunion and won't be back until Monday." Lily cursed more profusely than before and stormed over to where her cauldron was and sat on the desk, glaring mutinously at the floor. "Why do you need Slughorn? Surely you can brew whatever Lupin needs," said Snape with a frown.

"I'm not a superwoman Snape, everyone needs help sometimes. I can't brew it without help and, no offense Liz, she's not in the greatest state to help me out."

"What do you need?"

Lily looked at Snape in surprise. Was he offering to help her? No, that was crazy. He hated the Marauders and hadn't spoken to her in two years. She must've been mistaken…right?

"A love potion antidote," she said cautiously, "It's easy enough to do with two people, but I need someone to have everything ready for me when I need it."

"Fine, what can I do?" Lily paused for a moment and sighed.

"Start chopping the-"

"Lily!" Elizabeth cried out in horror, "You can't be serious? You're trusting Snape with this? What if he slips something in that poisons Remus? You know as well as I do that he can't stand Remus or his friends!"

"You're just going to have to trust me, Tortelli," said Snape with an impassive shrug.

"Give me one good reason why I should trust you Snape," Elizabeth snarled furiously, "After everything you've done, why would I ever trust you with something like this?"

"You can't trust me," Snape said quietly, almost bitterly. There was silence and he looked up, continuing, "But if you want your boyfriend to go back to normal, you're going to have to."

Elizabeth looked from Lily, to Remus, to Snape. She shut her eyes, as though it would make it easier, and nodded curtly. Lily started giving orders while Snape gathered the ingredients and Elizabeth looked at Remus. She brushed some hair out of his face and sighed heavily.

"Please let this work," she whispered.

_Author's Note: Yay, another chapter done! I thought I'd throw a little Snape into the mix and I hope you liked it. He'll be in the next chapter too and he and Lily have a little chat. Please tell me what you think. I don't want to have to get on my hands and knees and beg for reviews but I will if need be. Come on, I promise the review button doesn't bite. It's well trained, I swear! :D_


	13. Chapter 12

_Author's Note: I'm silvermoony77, she's J.K Rowling. I'm an American high school student, she's a British millionaire. Yeah, we're definitely the same person…_

Chapter 12

Lily and Snape worked in silence while Elizabeth stared off into space. Suddenly, there was a groan and Elizabeth snapped back to reality to see Remus rubbing his head. She smiled warmly at him, happy he was awake.

"Remus!" she said, placing a hand on his. He quickly ripped his hand out of her grasp and glared at her.

"Where's Layna?" he asked and Elizabeth felt like a knife had been shoved into her stomach.

"I…uh…"

"She's waiting for you on the grounds," said Snape suddenly and everyone turned to him, "We wanted to make sure you were presentable before meeting her. Surely you want to look your best?"

"Yes, of course!" said Remus, a huge grin across his face. Lily saw the heartbroken expression Elizabeth wore and raised her wand to knock him out again. Liz saw this and shook her head, almost pleadingly, as her eyes shone with tears.

"Don't," she choked, looking away, "Please, I'm fine."

Lily nodded, but didn't believe it as she stowed her wand away and got back to the potion. Elizabeth got Remus talking about their favorite book: _Hogwarts: A History_ so he wouldn't keep talking about Layna.

"I take it Delucci still hasn't gotten over him?" Snape asked quietly as they worked.

"Apparently not, I thought she was when I found her making out with you in a broom cupboard," replied Lily coolly.

"Actually, you saved me," he said, "Here I am minding my own business and she comes out of nowhere and drags me in there. I have never met anyone more desperate in my entire life, except perhaps Moaning Myrtle."

Lily let a chuckle escape her before quickly putting a hand over her mouth and becoming somber.

"You didn't seem to mind too much," she said once she was sure she wouldn't start laughing again.

"I think I was still in shock," said Snape with a shrug, "Like I said, she took me by surprise." There was more silence before Snape spoke again, asking, "How were your holidays?"

"Very nice, thank you. I stayed here for Christmas because I couldn't miss the dance. Plus I don't think I was…wanted at home," she said after an unsure pause.

"Petunia's still being mean to you?"

"Oh you have no idea," said Lily angrily and it all came out in a rush, "She's dating this pig named Vernon Dursely and treats me like dirt whenever I go home. Before Mum and Dad would tell her off but now after the accident…I think she blames me for it because I couldn't do anything for them with my magic. We used to be so close but now…now she thinks I'm a freak! I know she's just jealous or scared or whatever, but it's still hurtful when she calls me that."

Snape frowned at the mention of the accident. He remembered reading about the accident in the local papers. Mr. and Mrs. Evans had been coming back from a night out when a tractor trailer slipped on some ice and swerved into their lane. There was nothing the Muggle Healers could do; they had died on impact. Lily had been so upset afterwards and all Severus wanted to do was go and comfort her, but she still hated him for what happened the end of their fifth year and he didn't blame her. However, he saw that her friends were looking out for her and trusted that they did a good job because she was able to talk about it now. Severus was surprised when Potter had even stopped asking Lily out for a full two months after the accident happened. Apparently the self-absorbed git could restrain himself when need be.

"She calls you a freak to your face?" Snape asked, stopping what he was doing and looking at Lily. She nodded and his face went blank. He reached out and touched her arm gently but she quickly moved away and he sighed. "Please Lily, can we at least pretend things were like they used to be? Just until the potion is finished? We were friends for so long and I don't want our last conversation to be what it was."

"You made that choice Severus," she said, looking at the potion but then raised her eyes to him, "But I don't want it to be either." She managed a small smile, her eyes dancing with tentative happiness. Snape smiled back and they continued working together.

"How's your mum and dad doing?" she asked slowly, "Do they still argue a lot?"

"Not so much because my dad got a job and gets home late," said Snape calmly, "My mum makes sure we're in bed before he gets back and she leaves his dinner out for him. I can't wait until after Hogwarts so I can go live on my own."

"What do you want to do?" Lily asked, glad for the change of topic. She didn't like talking about parents in general. It made her remember hers and she always felt a heavy sadness.

"I've thought about being a professor actually," said Snape with a shrug, "Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts, I've always enjoyed that subject."

"You could be a Potions professor too Sev," she said with a smile, "Slughorn's getting old and always complains about his job. You'd be a great replacement for him."

"Slughorn complains, but he's not leaving anytime soon. He loves his paycheck too much," said Snape, a smile creeping across his lips at being called "Sev" again, "What about you?"

"I want to be a Healer," she replied, "I want to help people who need it, you know? And if there is going to be a…a war, I want to prevent as many people from dying as possible. James thinks I should be an Auror with him, but I'm not sure I could be on the front lines of battle."

"You can do whatever you set your mind to Lily," Snape said and continued in a slightly stiff tone, "How is Potter anyway?"

"He's very well, thank you," said Lily, giving him a sideways glance.

"I'm not going to say I'm happy that you two…" he stopped and took a deep breath, continuing, "But if you're happy, then I'm happy you're happy."

"Thank you Sev," Lily said, taken aback but pleased nonetheless.

The potion was almost finished and Elizabeth was glad for that. She didn't know how much more she could take. They had exhausted the book topic and he was starting to talk about Layna now. He was oblivious to the tears in her eyes, or he just didn't care. All he thought about and talked about was that bitch Layna Delucci! The way he praised her was sickening and Liz found herself believing Remus still actually loved her. She was usually a rational person and normally would have told herself that it was just the potion making him talk like this, but she wasn't thinking rationally then. Liz just kept remembering seeing the two of them together and how happy they had seemed. Maybe he still liked her, even loved her. Maybe he regretted ever getting together with her.

"Take this Remus," said Lily kindly, holding out a flask and bringing Liz back to Earth.

"What is it?" Remus asked suspiciously.

"It's a Pep-Up Potion of course," said Snape after a beat when no one said anything, "Or would you like to look like death warmed over when you meet Delucci?"

Remus took the flask and chugged the potion. They all stood there, waiting anxiously. His smile faded slowly and he put a hand to his head, groaning.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" he asked, his head throbbing painfully.

"Welcome back Remus," said Lily, "You had a couple days worth of Amortentia so that headache is going to be there for a few hours."

"Here," Snape said and pulled a vial out of his robes, "This will get rid of the headache."

Remus glanced nervously at the vial and then at Lily, who nodded encouragingly. He took it and shuddered. He saw Elizabeth beside him and he smiled at her. She just looked at her hands, the tiniest of smiles on her face. He frowned and reached to take her hand, but she stood up and left the room quickly.

"Elizabeth!" he cried and ran after her, "Liz, wait!"

He sprinted to the dungeon door where he saw her back but when he reached the Entrance Hall, there was no one there. He looked around desperately, saying her name over and over, but eventually gave up and made his way up the stairs. Once he was out of sight, Elizabeth appeared out of nowhere and walked out into the freezing cold. She walked all the way to the tree by the lake and sat underneath it. She pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed into them. Perhaps it was the mixture of stress and lack of sleep from the night before because of excitement, but Elizabeth felt tired so she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep despite the freezing temperatures. Right then, she didn't care if she got frostbite or worse. Maybe the cold would numb the pain in her heart.

Elizabeth didn't move as a huge shadow passed over her. Breath forming steam in the frigid air, two huge arms lifted the girl up and the large figure carried her off, leaving enormous tracks in the freshly fallen snow.

…...

Lily and Snape watched Remus run after Elizabeth and Lily sighed heavily. She knew Elizabeth had forgotten Remus was under the effects of the potion and had started to doubt Remus' feelings for her. Elizabeth had a low self-esteem and was always doubting herself, except in school that is. Lily guessed that came from the twins' mother who was always finding ways to subtly insult them.

"I should go find her," she said, "Sev, I can't thank you enough for helping us. I don't know what we would've done if you hadn't been here."

"You would've figured something out," Snape said, "You're smart Lily."

They stood in an awkward silence for a minute. Then Lily took a step forward and hugged her ex-best friend. Snape quickly hugged her back, holding her close and never wanting to forget how this felt.

"Lily, I'm so sorry," he whispered, taking everything in. The smell of her hair, her hands around his neck, his arms holding her against him.

"I know you are," she sighed and took a step back, Snape letting his hands fall to his sides as he looked into those green eyes he loved so much. She looked at him and smiled sadly as she said, "You're a good person Severus Snape, please always remember that. Good-bye."

And she turned and left. Snape watched her go and probably would've stood there forever if he hadn't heard footsteps of a first year Slytherin pass by the door. That broke through his daydreams and he went back to his common room, feeling slightly better than before.

…...

"Moony, you're back!" said Sirius when Remus walked into the common room. Everyone was gathered around their usual place by the fire. Everyone that is, except for Lily and Elizabeth.

"Where are the girls?" Alana asked, confused.

"Lily was still in the dungeons when I ran after Liz," said Remus distractedly, "Did Elizabeth not come up here?"

"No," said James, "You're the first one up here."

"Damn," he swore, "She must've taken off."

"Remus John Lupin," said Alana furiously, "Where the bloody hell is my sister?"

"I don't know!" Remus cried out, equally furious, "She just took off when I woke up."

"He must've said something when he was under the potion," said Alice in a soothing tone to Alana.

"I don't bloody care if he wasn't right!" Alana cried out, rising to her feet and whipping out her wand, "I warned you Lupin that if you broke her heart you'd pay…"

"Al, please," said Sirius, coming up and wrapping his arm around her waist, "We'll find her, don't worry. I'm sure this is all one big misunderstanding."

"It better be," she growled and stowed her wand away.

Remus let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and looked at Alana. He could see the anger dying from her eyes and sadness replacing them. He may not have had any siblings but he knew that if any of his friends were as upset as Elizabeth probably was now, he would be just as angry as Alana was.

"Look, we'll split up," said James quickly, "Al, Sirius, Remus, and I will look outside while you two wait for Lily and start making rounds throughout the castle."

Alice and Frank nodded and the others left the castle to search the grounds. Alana and Sirius went towards the greenhouses while James and Remus walked towards the Forbidden Forest and the lake. Remus quickly went to the tree he knew Liz loved to sit under and found an indent in the snow where someone had laid down. There were large boot prints in the snow too.

"James!" Remus called and his friend ran over, "I think she was here, but someone took her."

"Look at those boots, they're like a giant's!" he said and the boys looked at each other.

"Hagrid," they said together and rushed toward the light of the hut. Remus reached it first and knocked loudly on the heavy wooden door.

"I'll get Alana and Sirius," said James and Remus nodded as the door opened and a huge man with a mane of black hair smiled down at him.

"Good to see yeh Remus," Hagrid said happily, "Come in, she's sleepin' now but she'll come 'round soon I 'spect."

"Thanks Hagrid," said Remus with a sigh of relief when he saw Elizabeth sleeping in Hagrid's bed. She was wrapped up tight in a pile of blankets near a roaring fire. "No frostbite or hypothermia?"

"No, I saw her when she came out an' brought here before it got too cold fer her," explained Hagrid, "I jus' thought she'd go back inside, never expected her to lay in the snow. It's freezin' out!"

"Yeah," he said distractedly as he sat down on the bed beside Elizabeth, tucking her hair behind her ear and running his fingers through her hair. She was so calm and peaceful when she slept. He just wished she would look like that when she was awake. There was always stress and tiredness in her eyes when she thought no one was looking at her. She tried to put on a smile so no one saw how much she worried about her friends, but Remus knew the truth. He had caught Elizabeth sitting up in the common room one night with a photograph of her three best friends as she sat by the fire.

_"Liz," he said and she looked around quickly. She saw it was Remus and smiled._

_"What are you doing up?" she asked, hastily putting the picture in her pocket, "What time is it?"_

_"Two in the morning, but what are you doing?" he persisted._

_"Nothing," she said but Remus looked at her and she sighed, "I couldn't sleep. I just keep thinking about all these deaths and disappearances in the _Prophet_ and…" She swallowed and Remus saw she was trying not to cry. "What's going to happen when we leave the safety of Hogwarts? Lily, Alana, and I are Muggleborn and this guy who calls himself Lord Voldemort seems to target Muggleborn wizards. Alice may be a Pureblood but her family associates with Muggles and that's just as bad. I can't stand the thought of losing any of my friends Remus, you guys are my family!"_

_"I know," Remus said, sitting beside her and putting his arm around her shoulders, "But we'll always have each others' backs, you know that. We'll look out for each other because that's what family does. We keep each other safe."_

_Liz nodded and started silently crying into Remus' chest. He sat there and held her until he felt her stop and her breathing deepen. He spoke her name quietly, but she didn't respond. She was asleep. Remus kissed the top of her head and leaned back into the couch to go to sleep as well._

Remus knew Liz worried much more than her sister, or anyone else for that matter, did. That was her personality; she was a worry-wart. But that's why he loved her so much, because she cared.

_That's it_, he thought suddenly as the thought hit him,_ I love her! I'm in love with Elizabeth Tortelli!_

Sure, he knew that he liked her so much more so than any other girl he had known, but the idea of loving her had never came into his head until then. The thought made his heart flutter and he smiled to himself.

Slowly, Elizabeth's eyes opened and she looked around in sleepy confusion. She saw Remus sitting beside her and quickly sat up, moving away from him. Hurt flashed across her eyes before cold blankness as she looked at him. He couldn't hold back the hurt that he knew was evident on his face as he looked back. How was he going to tell Elizabeth about his revelation if she hated him?

_Author's Note: Another chapter done! So I want to know what you all think of that little bit of Snape I threw in there. I always felt bad that the last time he and Lily had a conversation was after the lake scene. Don't worry, the story will be in canon but I just threw that in there. It'll be another good memory for Snape to think about. He needs happy memories too!_

_So my classes start up tomorrow and I hope to be able to review every day but if I can't, please forgive me. First semester senior year is going to be kind of stressful getting used to things and doing college application junk. Not looking forward to it but oh well. You know what'll make me feel better? Pressing that lovely review button and telling me what you think of this story! So make me smile and leave me a review. :)_


	14. Chapter 13

_Author's Note: No, I do not own Harry Potter. But I own the books and movies, does that count? No…darn… :(_

Chapter 13

Elizabeth was bundled up and taken to the Hospital Wing where she spent the night. Alana somehow managed to slip past Madame Pomfrey and spent the night by her sister's bedside. Sirius had waited up for Alana and ended up sleeping on the couch. He had thought she was just going for a visit and was surprised when he woke up the next morning and found her sitting next to Lily and Alice, talking about staying with Liz.

"How did Madame Pomfrey not kick you out?" he asked, rubbing his eyes and stretching.

Al smiled ever so slightly and pulled on the chain she always wore around her neck. Sirius had noticed it before but didn't expect to see the heart-shaped locket that appeared from under her shirt.

"Now you see me," she said and fumbled with the locket. Suddenly, she vanished and Sirius heard a voice say, "Now you don't."

"Merlin! What the bloody hell is that thing?" Sirius asked, leaping to his feet and walking to the spot where he last saw his girlfriend.

"An Invisibility Necklace," said Alana from behind and he whipped around to find her standing there with the locket in her hands, grinning. "Our step-grandmother made them for Liz and me when we started Hogwarts as a gift. She also has one that she always wears. It's kind of like James' cloak really. Liz and I used them all the time to sneak out of the dormitories after curfew to get food from the kitchens and stuff like that. I used it so Pomfrey wouldn't see me and kick me out."

"How is it we never knew about this?" Sirius asked in awe, "I thought only the Marauders were able to sneak out at night without being caught."

"Silly arrogant boys," said Alice teasingly, "You didn't honestly think you were the only ones in the school with a taste for adventure, did you?"

"Even you, Lily?" said Sirius and Lily smiled sheepishly.

"Well, someone had to keep an eye on these trouble makers," she said with a shrug, "And I knew Liz would usually back me up. She made sure we were careful about using them."

At the mention of her sister, Al's smile faded and she tucked the locket away just as the rest of the boys came down. Remus looked at Al but quickly lowered his gaze when the dark-haired girl sent a glare his way. Sirius put an arm on her shoulder but Alana shrugged him off and left the common room, probably to go visit her sister before classes started. Across the common room in a corner, Lindsay and Peter sat and watched the Gryffindor girl leave.

"Time to put our plan into action," Lindsay said and Peter shifted uncomfortably.

"You sure this is a good idea?" he asked nervously, "I mean, I don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Now Peter," she cooed and put her hand on his knee, "You said you wanted to make them pay for the last seven years. This is perfect."

"I know, it's just that-"

"Don't you trust me?" she asked, pouting and she saw he was relenting. She leaned forward so she was practically on top of him and whispered, "You do trust me, right?"

"Y-Yes," he stuttered and she smiled, leaning back.

"Good, now let's go."

…...

All day, Alana thought of her sister. She didn't even pay attention during History of Magic (Like she ever did, she usually copied her sister's notes but she decided she'd ask Lily for hers later) and almost blew up the Potions classroom because she wasn't focusing. Professor Slughorn tutted disapprovingly but Al didn't care what that old windbag thought. She knew Liz would've figured out a way to save her potion but she wasn't here. She was sitting in a Hospital Wing bed trying to recover from a broken heart.

Elizabeth had told her sister what happened in the dungeons and how she felt about Remus. Alana tried to convince her sister that Remus was under the effects of a love potion, but Liz seemed to think that Remus had always loved Layna more than her.

"I'm not a lovable person Al!" she said, tears in her eyes, "Mom was right, I'm going to grow up old and alone with no one to love me."

"When did she say that?" Al said in alarm.

"Do you remember when that boy from down the neighborhood had a crush on me and used to give me flowers every day?" Liz asked and her sister nodded, "Well the day that he told me he didn't like me anymore and started giving flowers to that other girl, I told Mom what happened. It was the summer before our second year so she knew we were witches. She told me that no one would ever love me because I was a…a freak."

"That's not true Lizzy, we're not freaks. There are thousands of other people just like us who can do magic," said Alana, gripping her sister's hand tightly, "You're not going to grow up alone and unloved because even if you don't meet the right guy, you will always have me. Boys come and go, but sisters are forever."

"I just thought that he was "the one", you know?" Liz whispered, the tears falling harder now, "God, I feel like such an idiot!"

"You are not an idiot, you're the smartest witch I know. I think, but you can't tell Lily now," Al said in a mock whisper, looking around for listeners although they were totally alone, "You're going to get valedictorian when we graduate."

"Oh Al!" her sister laughed and they hugged while Liz cried softly into Al's shoulder.

That was what Alana was thinking of as she wandered the corridors once classes were let out. Most of the students were in the Great Hall having dinner, but Alana wasn't hungry. She also didn't want to have to see Remus because, although she knew it wasn't completely his fault for what happened in the dungeons, her protective instincts were in high gear and she had to resist the urge to poke him hard with her fork or at least flick peas at him until he got annoyed and left.

She sighed as she stopped and looked down at the Valentine's Day gift Sirius had given her. It was a silver link bracelet with a ruby red charm in the shape of a heart. If you looked carefully inside the heart, you could see a majestic lion roaring while standing on its hind legs, just like the Gryffindor crest. Al felt herself smiling slightly when she remembered him giving it to her.

_Alana was waiting for the common room to clear out before she snuck off to see her sister. Finally, it was just her and Sirius. She looked over at him and noticed he was shifting in his space on the couch. She frowned._

_"Did James give you something that makes it uncomfortable to sit down?" she asked with raised eyebrows and continued when he looked at her in confusion, "You haven't sat still in over an hour."_

_"Sorry," he mumbled and Al's frown deepened._

_"What's up?" she asked with concern. He let out a deep breath and turned to face her, holding out a thin, black velvet box that was tied with a red ribbon._

_"Happy Valentine's Day," he said nervously, "I know it wasn't the best day but I hope that this makes you feel better."_

_Alana's eyes lit up as she took the box from him and opened it. She gasped when she saw the bracelet and launched herself onto him, hugging him tightly._

_"Sirius, it's beautiful!" she cried, "You really shouldn't have, this is too much. I mean, I know that your family is well off but I don't-"_

_"Don't you dare say you don't deserve this," he said, looking down at her with his stormy grey eyes, "You are an amazing woman Alana. You're stunningly gorgeous, fun-loving, and you always live life to the fullest. I can't imagine my life without you and this gift is my attempt at showing just how much you mean to me. You're my Gryffindor lioness."_

_Alana felt herself getting warm and smiled shyly. She was surprised that she was acting like this. Liz was the one who got shy and she was the one who would make a comment or retort so everyone laughed. Sirius gently took her hand and put the bracelet on her wrist. Once he was done, his hands lingered on top of hers and they just sat there for a while. Finally, Alana said she was going to check on her sister._

_"It's after curfew, you can't go," said Sirius. Alana just laughed._

_"And this is coming from the guy who sneaks out every evening with his friends to plan pranks," she said as she stood up and patted Sirius on the head, "Don't worry, I'll be back."_

_Sirius sighed and nodded. Alana swooped down and kissed him on the lips, turning to go. Sirius grabbed her arm and pulled her into his lap, causing her to let out a small cry of surprise._

_"That was not a good-bye kiss," he whispered and grinned wickedly._

_After a longer good-bye kiss, Alana waved good-bye to her boyfriend and snuck out into the corridors. She really had planned on only staying a little bit, but Liz had woken up from a nightmare and couldn't go back to bed. Al climbed into her sister's bed and laid there with her until her sister was asleep, just like they used to do when they were younger. Soon, Alana was fast asleep too._

As Alana turned the corner, she saw a group of girls talking but they stopped when they saw her. Alana recognized a few of them; they were part of Sirius' fan club. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she made to pass them when one stepped in front of her.

"Where you off to, Tortelli?" one girl asked and Alana recognized her as Taylor Lane, the head of the Sirius Black fan club. Great, just what she needed!

"None of your business," Al snarled, gripping her wand that was in her pocket.

"How was your Valentine's Day?" Taylor asked with sickening sweetness.

"I repeat, none of your business. Now move your scrawny ass before I make you!"

"I'm going to assume Sirius gave you that bracelet," she continued, ignoring Alana's comments, "And I wanted to warn you that the next thing he'll do is ask for sex."

"What?" cried Alana, totally taken aback, "No, you're lying. Sirius would never do that."

"He did it to all of us," said Taylor, gesturing to the group of girls, "Some of us said yes and others said no, but one thing was constant. He broke up with all of us, and he'll do the same to you. You're just another object for him to play with and when he gets bored, you'll be thrown aside like the rest of us. Why else do you think we started the fan club? We were trying to get him to notice us again."

Alana stared at the group of girls. She remembered Sirius dating them all over the last few years. But Sirius told her he wouldn't throw her away like a used toy!

"He told you that you were special, that he couldn't imagine his life without you," Taylor said, cutting into her thoughts, "He said that bracelet was his way of trying to show you how much you meant to him, am I right?"

Al didn't respond but looked at the bracelet around her wrist. No, it couldn't be true…

"He said the same thing to us too, Alana," she said gently and pulled out a silver necklace with a pink stone pendant, "He gave me this for our one month anniversary. The next month he asked me to sleep with him. I told him no way and he dumped me after a week. Margaret over there said yes and he dumped her after three weeks. It's your choice but either way, it'll end the same."

"Why are you telling me this?" Alana asked softly, not looking up.

"We're trying to protect you. We want you to get out while you can and as unscathed as possible," said Taylor, "Some of the other girls may hate you because you're dating Sirius but we all feel sorry for you. We know exactly what's going to happen and want to prevent it."

It was a few moments before Alana said, "Well thank you then, I…I need to think about all this. Excuse me."

She slipped by Taylor and walked calmly down the corridor. As soon as she was out of their sight, she bolted to the common room, up to her dormitory, and threw herself on the bed. Tears burned in her eyes and she let them fall freely. There was no one here to worry about seeing her. For once, Alana didn't have to worry about being the tough one of the group. For once, she could let herself cry.

…...

Taylor watched the Gryffindor run off and snickered, rolling her eyes.

"Can't believe she bought that!" the girl said and turned to a suit of armor, "So are you gonna pay me or what?"

There was a loud sigh and Lindsay stepped from behind the armor with Peter in tow. She reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out a sack of coins, throwing it at Taylor.

"You really don't deserve all that, my grandmother could act better than you," said Lindsay.

"How was it you didn't end up in Slytherin?" asked Taylor with raised eyebrows. When Lindsay just stared back, the girl mumbled, "Whatever," and left with the other girls.

"That's one couple taken care of for a while," said Lindsay as she walked with Peter, "Now it's time to move on to her Mudblood sister."

"But I thought that-"

"That love potion ploy won't last long," she interrupted, "We were lucky though that happened unplanned by us, it'll make it easier to break them apart. However, we'll give them time. Let's work on Longbottom and Lenns next, shall we?"

Peter just nodded and followed the girl down the corridors, ignoring the feeling in his gut that told him this wasn't a good idea.

_Author's Note: The plot thickens! If you thought the locket was a little random, fear not! All will be explained, I promise. Have a little faith! :D I'm sorry it's been a few days since my last update, you're welcome to call my school and tell them that they're taking up too much of my time. Anyway, what do you think so far? Good? Bad? Adequate? CC is loved and appreciated so don't be afraid to tell me what you think, just no flames because they __will__ be used to fuel the kitchen fires of Hogwarts. Thank you! :)_


	15. Chapter 14

_Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter or the characters, except the ones you don't recognize that is. Oh by the way, when Liz is angry, she swears horribly. No F-bombs, but pretty much everything else is said._

Chapter 14

Something was wrong. She could feel it when she walked into the common room after a day of hectic classes and hours in the library. The teachers were showing no mercy, saying it was their N.E.W.T year and the students needed to be prepared for their exams. But this was more than the stress of getting work done, she didn't know what it was but she knew she had to get to the bottom of this.

"Hey Alice, over here!" Frank called and Alice smiled, going over to her boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Frank was sitting at a table with Lily and James with piles of books everywhere.

"Hi guys, how's the work coming?" she asked, setting her bag down and getting her work out as well.

"Horribly," said James, letting his head fall onto his folded arms, "This is our last year here and the teachers insist on giving us so much work that we're practically swimming in it!"

"Did you finish your Herbology essay?" Lily asked and James grunted the affirmative, "I'll read over yours if you look at my Transfiguration essay and then we'll call it a night, okay?"

James didn't say anything but he picked his head up and pulled Lily's essay towards him. Alice started copying definitions onto a piece of parchment that was her study guide for Astronomy. Each of the girls had taken a couple classes and were in charge of creating study guides. When they were done, they would copy them with magic and everyone would have something to study from for the exams. They had been doing this since second year and knew they could trust each other to get all the important information.

As Alice wrote, she heard the portrait door open and looked up to see Alana walking in with Liz. Alice frowned at the sight of the two sisters. They both had become more reclusive the last few weeks, looked extremely pale with dark circles under their eyes, and thinner than usual. They were like identical zombies. Lily had also noticed this change and she and Alice had talked about it often. Lily told Alice that Alana hadn't been the same since Elizabeth went to the Hospital Wing. She thought this would change once her twin was released, but it didn't. Sirius was obviously worried but whenever he tried to talk to Al, or even if he started walking over to her, she would get up and leave without a word. The two of them hadn't talked in a week.

"Hey guys!" James said and the two girls looked up and gave identical tiny smiles.

"Come over here and complain with us," said Frank with a grin, "It's fun and a great way to procrastinate!"

"I could do with some procrastination," said Alana and led her sister to the table where they sat and chatted. Alice noticed the sisters didn't talk much but if they did, it was only a few words. She shared a glance with Lily, who also looked concerned. Alice was just about to ask what was wrong when the portrait hole opened and the twins paled even more, which Alice didn't think was possible.

"I just remembered, I've got to do that…that thing for that class," said Elizabeth as she jumped to her feet and walked quickly to the stairs. Alana made to follow her sister when a figure blocked her path.

"Alana, we need to talk," said Sirius and Alice swore she saw Alana trembling. Why did she look so frightened? Sirius was her boyfriend.

"N-Now?" Al asked, but she knew the answer.

"Yes, right now. Come on, we need to go somewhere a little more private," said Sirius and Alana nodded, following him out. They passed Remus along the way and the boy was staring at the girl's staircase, looking like he had been punched in the stomach.

"What's going on around here?" James asked.

"I wish I knew," whispered Alice as she watched Alana stepped through the portrait hole and out into the corridor.

…...

Alana knew this moment would come. She couldn't avoid him forever, they were in the same House and had the same classes. It was only a matter of time before he tried to get her alone. This was it, the moment of truth. Of course Al wasn't going to agree to what he asked, she knew the moment Taylor told her that she could never do it without being married first. Some people didn't mind, but she minded.

So what would happen? Would he call her a prude and dump her immediately? Or would be pretend to be all right with it and pressure her until he got tired of it? Alana shuddered at the thought of him breaking up with her. She wasn't sure her heart could take it.

_I guess I only have one option,_ she thought to herself and felt her heart plummet, but there was nothing else she could do.

Sirius opened the door to an abandoned classroom and let her enter first. Alana leaned against a desk for support as she concentrated on taking calming breaths. She could do this, she had to.

"Look Al, there's something I've been meaning to ask you for a while now," said Sirius and Alana felt her heart racing. Here it came, she had to stop it. "I wanted to ask you-"

"Don't!" Alana cried out, her voice cracking, "Don't ask Sirius, please. I don't want to have to answer you." She took a shaking breath and looked into his stormy grey eyes as she whispered, "It's over. I can't do this anymore."

Sirius didn't move but looked at her in silence. Did she mean what he thought she meant? "Wh-What?" he whispered in horror. No, she didn't mean…

"I'm breaking up with you," she said, tears falling down her face, "I can't do this anymore, all right? I'm tired of worrying, tired of wondering."

"What do you mean? What are you worrying and wondering about?" he asked, "Alana, please don't say-"

"God dammit Sirius, you can't tell me what I can and can't say!" she shouted, "You know exactly what I'm talking about! We've been together since November and it's almost March, that's almost three months. Your longest relationship lasted three weeks! Don't you think I'd start thinking when ours is going to end?"

"I don't want it to end, I have no intention of dumping you," cried Sirius, "Listen to me Alana, you're different than the other girls I've dated. You're special!"

"Ha!" she laughed coldly, "How many times have you used that line before? How many women have you wooed by telling them exactly what you said to me? Stop pulling words out of your ass and save it for someone who cares."

She glared at Sirius before storming out of the room and sprinting down the corridor. She couldn't cry yet, she had to wait until she was alone. Alana ran through the portrait hole, running over the first year that opened it, and all the way to her dormitory. She collapsed onto her bed and began sobbing into her pillow. She felt like her heart was down by her knees, it was so heavy. Alana could almost feel it shattering into a million pieces. All the books Elizabeth had made her read about romances that depicted broken hearts didn't do it justice. She never imagined how horrible she would feel. Knowing this only made her cry harder into her pillow. Feeling a hand on her back, Alana sat up with the speed of a rocket and saw Elizabeth sitting at the end of her bed, her eyes pleading.

"What happened?" she whispered but Alana couldn't speak, couldn't hold it in any longer. She put her face in her hands and continued as sobs racked her body. Elizabeth pulled her sister close to her and held Alana while she cried. Elizabeth didn't show it, but she was frightened. Alana never cried like this. If she did cry, it was silent tears and she would try to hide them. This wasn't like her sister.

The door to the dormitory opened and Alice came running in with Lily. They heard the sobbing and saw Elizabeth holding her sister. Immediately, the two girls went to Alana's side and began murmuring soothing words, trying to calm her down. After fifteen more minutes of hard sobbing, Alana started to calm down so she could sit up and wipe her eyes. Lily looked at her best friend's eyes and was shocked to find them dark and sorrowful.

"Al, what happened?" Lily asked gently.

"I c-couldn't do it an-anymore," she stuttered, "I l-love him, b-but I couldn't do that…no, not that."

"What do you mean?" said Alice while Elizabeth got a blanket and wrapped it around her sister's shaking body.

"It's b-been over three months already, he was go-gonna ask me eventually to do it," Alana whispered, hugging the blanket closer to herself, "He d-did it to the other girls…oh Merlin!"

A fresh wave of tears filled her eyes and she curled up on her bed, the sobs not as loud as before but still prevalent. Liz looked at the others and knew they all were thinking the same thing.

"Alana sweetie," said Liz softly, "Are you saying Sirius wanted to…er…take your relationship to the "next level"?"

"He d-d-didn't a-ask me y-yet, b-but he was g-going t-t-to!" said Alana through her sobs, "Th-That's why he t-took me away, t-to ask m-me."

"And you told him no and broke up with him?" Liz asked and her sister nodded, curling up tighter and crying harder.

"That jackass!" Lily hissed furiously, "Oh wait until I get my hands on him, he _will_ pay for this! How could he ask someone to do that after only three months? And especially since before then, Alana hated Sirius!"

"I can't believe him," said Alice slowly, "I always knew Sirius was a playboy, but I never imagined this. I mean, some people are up for doing it before…Liz? Where are you going?"

"Stay up here with her for me, okay?" said Liz calmly and that frightened the other two girls. They had no idea what she was thinking about.

"What are you going to do?" Lily asked worriedly.

"Don't worry about that, just try to calm Alana down and get her into the shower and her pajamas," Liz said in that eerily calm voice and left.

Elizabeth walked down the stairs and into the common room. Immediately, the room fell silent as everyone watched her. Slowly, it began to empty out so it was only the Marauders, minus Peter and plus Frank, and her. Frank started backing away and James followed his example. Remus was looking at Liz and saw the fiery anger in her eyes. He knew better than to talk so he rose from his chair and took cover behind a tall-backed chair. Sirius noticed his friends moving away and looked up to see Elizabeth standing by the stairs, her wand drawn and pointed at him.

"You!" she hissed, raising her wand, "You vile, two-timing, bastard! How dare you even consider doing that to her? Do you have any idea how much she cared about you? Isn't that enough, or do you always want more?"

"Liz, please just-"

"_Mobilcorpus!"_ she cried and Sirius rose a few inches off the ground, looking like a human puppet. "How does it feel Black, having no control over your body? Frightening isn't it? Especially since I'm the one controlling you and, quite frankly, I'd love to see you fly over the Astronomy Tower."

Sirius gulped and knew Elizabeth was completely serious when she said that.

"Don't worry though, I'm not a killer. Hell, I can't even kill a mosquito! However, that doesn't mean I won't make your life a living hell," she said darkly, "If you look at my sister, I'll hex you. If you try to talk to my sister, I'll hex you. If you so much as _think_ of trying to touch my sister, guess what?"

"You'll hex me?" Sirius guessed in a shaky voice and suppressed a shudder as Liz nodded at him slowly.

"Guess you aren't as much of a dumbass as I thought," she replied icily. She flicked her wand and Sirius crumpled to the ground. Glaring at him for a few seconds, Elizabeth looked at the others. James and Frank were looking at her with fear. Remus had poked his head from around the chair and they locked eyes. Elizabeth quickly turned on her heel and joined her friends in the dormitory. Once she was gone, Frank and James helped Sirius to his feet.

"You all right there mate?" James asked.

"I don't know," replied Sirius and James looked at the other two boys. This couldn't be good.

…...

Alice had finished her research in the library and was carrying the books Alana needed to finish her essay. Alana refused to leave her dormitory except for meals and classes. At meals, she only picked at her food and moved it around, only eating when her sister forced it down her throat. In the middle of the night, Alana would wake up screaming and crying so the girls would rush over and comfort her while Lindsay shouted for them to shut up and go back to bed.

The auburn-haired girl shifted the weight of her books onto her other hip as she kept walking. That Lindsay girl was a real piece of work. How she ever got into Gryffindor was beyond her. Maybe the Sorting Hat had been out partying the night before or something because only a man on weed would ever suggest putting a girl like Lindsay into Gryffindor. She was a nasty, lazy girl who always seemed to look at her with unknown pity and the other girls with distaste. Alice knew she thought Muggle-borns were inferior and this only made Alice angrier that Lindsay was a Gryffindor. True Gryffindors didn't care about blood, only that you were brave and loyal to your fellow housemates.

She turned the corner and continued walking, these thoughts filling her mind, when someone muttered a spell and Alice fell to the ground in a full-body binding hex. Her books fell to the ground with a clatter and pain shot through her arm as she hit the stone floor. She couldn't move a muscle.

_Author's Note: Wow, who knew Liz had that kind of vocabulary? It's always the quiet ones you need to worry about. I know I left you with a bit of a cliff-hanger but they're so much fun! Well, for me they are at least. Come on readers, I know you have thoughts and opinions so don't be shy with sharing them! You have nothing to fear; the review button doesn't bite and I won't be offended by CC. I love hearing what you think and what you wish for me to change. Beware though, for all flames will be used as fireballs to hit Death Eaters with! Thanks!_


	16. Chapter 15

_Author's Note: I am not J.K Rowling so, ergo, I don't own Harry Potter. Sorry to disappoint!_

Chapter 15

"Hurry, someone must've heard that," an unfamiliar voice hissed and two pairs of hands grabbed Alice, one by her shoulders and the other by her feet.

Alice tried to keep calm but her heart was pounding fast in her chest. What was going on? Who were these people? Where were they taking her? She tried to move but knew it was in vain. She would just have to wait for the curse to be lifted or for it to wear off. If only she could grab her wand and then she could curse these strangers into oblivion!

They carried her into an empty classroom a few minutes away and locked the door behind them as they placed Alice on the floor. She saw her attackers and noticed they were all wearing masks.

_Cowards!_ she thought angrily, _Show you faces like real men and women!_

"Hello Lenns," one masked figure said in a cold tone. It sounded male. "Do you know why we brought you here?"

"She can't talk, idiot!" another person hissed. They obviously didn't want to be heard but Alice could tell this one was a woman.

"Very well, I'll tell you then," the man said, ignoring the comment, "You and your entire family have been blood traitors for hundreds of years, associating yourselves with filthy Mudbloods and Halfbloods. The Lenns family may be one of the oldest pureblood families, but they are worthless. It's time your family learned their lesson and you have the honor of teaching them that lesson."

Alice felt her stomach twist in fear but she kept it off her face. She wouldn't show them how frightened she was. She would be brave so at least no one could say she died a coward.

_They're the cowardly ones,_ she thought to herself, _It's easy to kill a bound and defenseless person._

"Oh don't worry, we're not going to kill you," said the man with a sneering tone, "That would defeat our purpose really. We want you to be alive to tell your tale to the others. But trust me Alice Lenns, you will wish we killed you. Would you like to do the honors?" he asked, looking to a different figure. This one was shaking slightly and didn't respond. "Very well, you're loss. Go ahead."

Yet another figure stepped out from the shadows and pulled out their wand. Alice closed her eyes and waited, hoping her family wouldn't change because of this "message" these horrible people were trying to send. The body bind was released and a silencing charm was quickly cast before another curse.

"_Crucio!_" a female voice shouted with glee.

Alice tried to scream, but the silencing charm prevented any sound from coming out. All the figures saw was her mouth wide open, but no sound as she writhed on the ground. The shaking figure turned their face away while the woman who spoke first placed a hand on the trembling shoulder.

"Enough!" the man yelled and the curse was released, albeit reluctantly. Alice lay there, panting and shaking. The man waited until Alice caught her breath and nodded for the spell to be cast again. Once more, Alice felt the terrible pain of the Cruciartus Curse and silently screamed.

"No," the shaking figure whispered, his voice shaking too, "No, I can't do this anymore. This is too much. I never asked for _this_!"

"Peter, you wanted them to pay for-" the woman with her arm on his shoulder started.

"Yes, I did! However, I didn't think that dark magic and Unforgivable Curses would be part of the deal," Peter spat angrily, "Tell her to stop doing this!"

"I'd keep your little pet under control if I were you, O'Riley," the man said icily, "Lenns may be being tortured, but she isn't deaf!"

"I don't care if she bloody hears me!" said Peter, stepping forward and flicking his wand. Everyone had been caught off-guard by this sudden outburst from him so no one put up Shield Charms and their wands flew into his hands. The curse was broken and Alice panted before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she passed out.

"Peter, please!" Lindsay said, taking her mask off now that Alice was unconscious, "You've been great so far. In fact, we were going to ask you to join our cause."

"Your cause? If it involves torturing innocent students, I'm perfectly fine not joining," said Peter, keeping his wand pointed at them, "My friends may have been using me but at least they didn't physically abuse anyone that bothered them."

"What if we told you that everything you've known is going to change soon?" the man said, pulling his mask off and revealing Lucius Malfoy, "The Dark Lord is planning a war so what side do you want to be on Pettigrew? You can't deny it's coming, just read the _Prophet_ and it's all over the place. Do you want to be on the winning side or the losing side?"

"The Dark Lord has powers that even Dumbledore doesn't know about," said the last masked figure, Bellatrix Lestrange.

"I don't care, this isn't right!" cried Peter, "_Stupify!_"

All three people fell to the ground and Peter dropped their wands. Muttering a spell, Alice rose off the ground and Peter directed her through the door. He looked back and saw Lindsay lying on the ground. Sighing, he closed the door and walked down the corridor to the Hospital Wing.

…...

Lindsay groaned, clutching her head as she sat up and looked around. She was still in the unused classroom and quickly glanced at her watch. It was only five minutes since they had taken the Gryffindor girl. She chuckled because she knew Peter wasn't the best at Charms. She was shocked he had stuck up for that Lenns girl; Lindsay was under the impression Peter didn't have an ounce of courage in him. The thought of Peter defending another girl made her blood boil before she started in shock.

_Whoa, where did that feeling come from? Was that…jealousy?_ she thought, _No, it can't be! Peter's a stupid, bumbling, funny, sweet-NO!_

Luckily, she didn't have to worry about thinking those strange thoughts because Malfoy and Lestrange were waking up as well. They looked around and started cursing furiously.

"That little worm!" Bellatrix screeched, "He ruined our plans for that little blood traitor! How dare he act in such a way? He doesn't realize who he's dealing with!"

"Great, we lost our way in," said Malfoy, pounding his fist on the floor, "Now what do we do?"

"He'll be back," said Lindsay softly, glaring at Bellatrix with such anger that she shocked herself.

"What makes you think your little pet worm will come back now?" Lestrange asked, turning those cold Black family eyes on her. Lindsay, however, didn't flinch like many others would do. Instead, she rose to her feet and brushed herself up, grabbing her wand and heading to the door.

"Because Peter doesn't just need power, he craves it. He needs to feel protected by others. He knows the Dark Lord is powerful and that will draw him back to us," she replied, "Now I suggest you leave before Dumbledore begins searching the castle. He'll know something's up, he always does."

Lindsay shut the door and headed back to the dormitories, thinking about these new found emotions. It was impossible, she couldn't like Peter! She was just using him to get to his friends, who everyone knew would be close to Dumbledore when they left Hogwarts. They were the cookie-cutter version of what Dumbledore loved: do-gooders who thought everyone should be treated with equality and all that bullshit. But as Lindsay thought of the jokes Peter had made when they were together, she couldn't resist a giggle. And he was kind of cute, he wasn't as repugnant as she first thought him to be. He had a kind face with sparkling eyes and a sweet smile. Lindsay felt her heart pounding at the thought and quickly shook her head. She wasn't allowed to feel these things for him. She couldn't let her emotions get in the way of her mission. Lindsay just hoped she could keep them down long enough for it to be completed.

…...

Frank was sitting by Alice's bedside, holding her limp hand in his. He hadn't moved from this position since Peter burst into the common room and showed them which bed Alice was in. Peter had said he found her in an empty classroom passed out, left to be found by some passing student. Frank knew the others had left hours ago to study and get their work done, but he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. All he could think about was what happened to Alice.

"Well Alice," he whispered softly, "It looks like the Marauders are going to forgive Peter. He told them that Lindsay wasn't who he thought she was and that they were over. I know how much you didn't like her so I can't wait to see your reaction when you wake up and I tell you."

Alice didn't move except for the rising and falling of her chest. Frank sighed and pushed a strand of hair out of Alice's face, letting the hair drift across his fingers as another sigh escaped him.

"I know you're going to wake up soon. Madame Pomfrey said you're going to be fine once you wake up. She thinks you might've been traumatized by the attack and this is your body's reaction. She said you'll be different but I know you're going to recover. I'm going to be with you every step of the way, I promise."

At first, he thought he imagined it but he saw it again. Alice's eyes fluttered and opened, looking blearily around. She jumped when she saw him, but visibly relaxed when she realized she could see his face and knew who it was.

"Hey beautiful," he whispered, squeezing her hand lightly, "How are you feeling?"

"Been better," said Alice, eyes flooding with tears, "Frank, don't let them get me again."

"Who got you? Alice, who did this to you?"

"I…I don't know," she said as the tears fell down her cheeks, "They wore masks so I couldn't see their faces. There was a man, two women, and one person I couldn't tell what they were. They didn't speak."

"It's okay," said Frank comfortingly as Alice leaned her head against his chest, "I won't let anyone ever hurt you again, I swear to Merlin. I love you too much to lose you."

Alice managed a smile as she looked up at him and touched the side of his face with a trembling hand.

"I love you too, Frank," Alice said and he kissed her forehead.

"Now you need to get some rest, okay? I'll get Madame Pomfrey to bring you a sleeping draught so you don't have any nightmares."

Frank rose stiffly to his feet and walked to the back room, Alice watching him. He must've been sitting there for some time for him to be stiff like that. She gave him a small smile when he came back with the matron and Madame Pomfrey checked her over.

"Now dear, I need to know what you remember," the nurse said gently, "This will help me be able to treat you."

"I was walking to the common room from the library when someone used a body bind hex on me," said Alice slowly, fighting to keep her composure, "They carried me to a classroom and told me that m-my family needed to be taught a…a lesson." She paused and continued, "They used the Cruciartus Curse on me and I passed out. I don't remember anything else after that."

Frank's eyes were wide with horror. The Curciartus Curse? They used an Unforgivable Curse on her? It made him feel sick at the thought of his Alice having to deal with something as terrible as that. Madame Pomfrey frowned deeply but nodded and gave Alice her sleeping draught. Almost immediately, Alice's eyes began drooping and she grabbed her boyfriend's hand.

"Don't leave me alone, in case they come back," she whispered and Frank glanced at the matron. The older woman heard this and nodded to Frank.

"I've got special permission, just for you," he said and Alice laughed softly before falling back to sleep.

"You've got a fighter there," said Madame Pomfrey, sighing and shaking her head as she looked at the sleeping girl.

"I know I do," Frank said with a smile and watched the matron leave. He turned his attention back to Alice and leaned back in his chair, allowing his eyes to close and he fell asleep quickly.

_Author's Note: Did I not tell you that the story will get darker as time passed? I thought that Frank and Alice needed a chapter so this was the result! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a little while. School's been absolutely nuts. I don't know how often I'll be updating but I'll try to be somewhat consistent. I like to be a few chapters ahead so it flows nicely. What did you think? Good, bad, don't care? These and your own words can be put into a review so I know how my readers like the story. Without reviews, I won't know what to put more of or what to keep out. Do you want more Frank/Alice or are you a Peter/Lindsay fan? Press that little review button and make me the happiest writer ever! :D_


	17. Chapter 16

_Author's Note: Okay, you caught me. I'm actually J.K Rowling stuck in a teenage girl's body. Happy now?_

Chapter 16

Alice was released the next day and things settled down for the end of February. March came in like a lion with winds so bad that poor Professor Flitwick had to be helped out of a tree by Hagrid after being blown up by a particularly strong gust of wind. Lily was sitting in the Great Hall during lunch one day and noticed Remus looking far worse than usual. She wondered why for a moment before remembering what day it was. There was a full moon that evening.

Lily had always thought Remus was the most responsible of the group and they had gotten along well, even when James was asking her out every few hours. She had always called Remus one of her friends. Therefore, she noticed his absences every month and asked her other friends about it. Alice and Alana weren't as close with Remus so they didn't really notice, but Elizabeth did. The two girls had made it their mission the end of first year and beginning of second year to figure out what was wrong with Remus. Lily could still remember the day they figured it out.

_"Are you sure we're not just looking to deep into this?" Elizabeth asked, rubbing her tired eyes, "Maybe we're overreacting, maybe it's nothing!"_

_"No, something's definitely wrong with him," said Lily, shutting another book and dragging one towards her, "Did you see him today? He came down for breakfast and fainted before he could go to class! He always says he's going to visit his sick mother, yet he's the one who's sick! Once a month, he looks like hell and then gets better again."_

_She and Elizabeth were sitting in the library, like they had been for the past month practically every evening. Piles of books lay around them about magical diseases and abnormalities but none of them were answering the girls' questions. Elizabeth had suggested they try the restricted section using the Invisibility Necklaces to get past Madame Pince, but Lily said they would only do that when things got desperate. Lily was beginning to think that time was coming soon. The redhead closed another book with a loud snap and was grabbing another when she heard the voices of a few seventh year Slytherin boys._

_"Hey man, you psyched for the party tonight? It's gonna be sweet!"_

_"Totally! We've got Firewhisky, girls, and a full moon tonight! AAAWWWOOOOOHHHHH!"_

_The boys left the library laughing while Lily rolled her eyes at the stupidity of guys. She'd never understand how their crazy minds worked._

_"Merlin, can you believe them?" asked Lily with a chuckle, "I swear boys are animals until they reach twenty. What do you think Liz?"_

_She didn't respond and Lily looked up to see her friend staring at the door with wide eyes. Elizabeth was shaking her head, her eyes filling up._

_"Liz? Elizabeth, what is it?" she asked with concern._

_"Remus wasn't in classes today and I bet he won't be in them tomorrow either," whispered Elizabeth so Lily had to bend closer to hear her friend, "It happens once a month and I know why. Do you know what tonight is?"_

_"Um…no?"_

_"It's a full moon, Lily!" she hissed. Lily looked confused for a moment before her eyes went wide and she gasped._

_"No. No, not Remus! Oh my God, oh my God! What do we do?" asked Lily, starting to freak out, "We've got to tell someone! We need to get Dum-"_

_"LILY!" Liz cried, placing a hand on her shoulder and lowering Lily into her chair, "Calm down! Look, Dumbledore must know otherwise he wouldn't have let Remus in. I'm sure the professors know too."_

_"Oh Merlin, oh Merlin!" repeated Lily over and over again, "How could this happen? How could Dumbledore let him-?"_

_"Let him what?" Elizabeth snapped in a whisper, interrupting Lily again and looking around for listeners, "Remus has just as much a right to be here as we do! I've read books about this; they can't help what happens to them. There's no cure or way to make the pain easier. There are people working on it, but nothing has come out yet. When Remus is in that condition, he doesn't know who he is and has no control. He can't help what he is."_

_"You…You're right, I'm sorry," said Lily quietly, looking ashamed, "So what do we do? Should we tell him we know?"_

_"No, I don't think that's a good idea," said Liz with a sigh, "He obviously doesn't want people to know. I'm sure James, Sirius, and Peter have no idea, although they might be suspicious like we were. If Remus wants us to know, he'll tell us. In the meantime, we'll just have to be there for him and support him. We need to let him know that he has good friends he can trust. Can you do that with me, Lily?"_

_"Of course!" the other girl replied with a smile. Elizabeth returned her with one of her own and they began returning the books to their shelves._

As the years past, Alana and Alice started to notice Remus' absences and questioned the other girls. Finally, Elizabeth told her sister and Alice the truth after having them swear not to breathe a word. Alice, who grew up with horror stories of real werewolves, had a minor freak-out and couldn't look at Remus for a week and a half. Luckily, Remus didn't notice since he didn't know Alice well anyway. It was only after then that Alice realized that Remus wasn't dangerous during the school day and she started to relax. Alana, on the other hand, looked shocked for a moment when Liz told her, but shrugged nonchalantly.

"I know he won't bite any of us," she replied, "Remus is almost as responsible as my sister and trust me, that's saying something."

Lily sighed as she pushed her food around, knowing tonight none of the girls would sleep. They had known since sixth year that the boys snuck out every full moon to be with Remus under the cover of being animagi. Lily remembered when they had figured that out and she threatened to report the boys to the Ministry. However, Alana and Liz managed to convince her to keep quiet so no one knew there were three unregistered animagi running around Hogwarts. Not even the boys knew how much the girls knew about them.

Every full moon since then, the girls waited until the common room was empty and would camp out on the couches, waiting up as late as they could before crashing by the fire. They were all worried that one of the boys wouldn't come back and Remus would get in trouble. Lily sighed once more and pushed her plate away, getting up and going to classes. It was going to be a long night.

…...

"All's quiet! Let's go," Alice whispered.

The girls walked down the stone steps with blankets and pillows, and began making their make-shift beds for the evening. Lily kept an eye on Elizabeth to see how she was holding up. Liz was paler than normal, well normal as of late, and shaking as she climbed onto the couch and wrapped the blanket around her. She may have been pretending not to like Remus anymore, but Lily knew this twin wouldn't be getting a wink of sleep tonight.

"Good night girls," said Alana in a hollow voice. Everyone muttered a response and as Lily was wrapping a blanket around her as she stared at the dying fire, she could've sworn she heard Alana whisper, "Watch over him tonight" under her breath.

Lily said a quick prayer before closing her eyes and letting sleep overcome her.

…...

"Liz…Elizabeth, wake up!"

Elizabeth groaned and opened her eyes to see a figure with glasses in front of hazel eyes and with black hair standing over her. She squinted before realizing who it was.

"James?" she murmured, sitting up, "What time is it? It's barely dawn." Suddenly she realized what it was last night and she immediately woke up completely. "Oh Merlin, what happened? Is everyone all right?"

"I'll explain along the way but I need your help first," said James quickly, "Help Peter get Sirius up to our dormitory while I get the rest of the girls up."

Liz nodded and pushed the blankets aside, standing up and seeing what James was talking about. Peter was standing with his wand stretched out, Sirius hovering a few feet off the ground. Sirius was covered in blood and scratches, his robes torn and his chest rising and falling slightly. Immediately, Liz took over for Peter, who looked extremely tired and worn, and brought Sirius up to the dormitory. She looked the boy over and noticed an extremely deep gash across his chest and down his left arm.

The door burst open and the rest of the girls came in, Alana leading the way. Her hair was tousled from sleep and her eyes still had traces of sleep in them, but she was alert as she walked over to Sirius' bedside and looked him over.

"What happened tonight?" Lily whispered.

"I don't know," said James, shaking his head, "We couldn't control him. He kept attacking anything that moved so we tried to bring him back into the Shack. He saw a rabbit or something and tore after it, and Sirius and I ran after him. Sirius blocked him and Remus went nuts, slashing him like he was an enemy. I managed to knock him out and patched Sirius up as best as I could, wanting to wait until the moon went down. Remus woke up and started attacking himself. I tried to make him stop but he just lashed out at me."

James winced, clutching his shoulder and Lily noticed this. Like lightning, she pushed James' robes back and gasped. The gash on his shoulder was bleeding badly.

"Lie down," she instructed, pushing her boyfriend down on an empty bed and whipping out her wand and muttering spells under her breath. Liz looked and saw Alana doing the same to Sirius while Alice watched with a pale face. Suddenly, Liz realized something.

"Guys!" she hissed and everyone who was conscious looked up, "Frank's asleep!"

"Actually I'm not," a voice said and Frank pulled back his bed curtains, getting out of bed and walking over to them, "It's all right though, I figured it out already. I knew about Remus being a werewolf by third year and the rest of my roommates being animagi by fifth year. You guys shouldn't have left those books lying around in plain sight. So," he said, rubbing his hand together and pulling out his wand, "What can I do to help?"

"Sirius needs more help than me," muttered James as he screwed his face up in pain as Lily healed his wounds.

"No," said Alana quietly, "I've got this. I don't need anyone else's help. Go check on Peter, he looked like he was going to pass out when we came up here."

Frank nodded and ran down the stairs. Liz went to James with a determined look on her face.

"James, how is Remus doing?" she asked.

"Well, my plan was to take you to him after you brought Sirius up here, but it seems my girlfriend has other plans for me," said James with a pointed look at Lily, who snorted.

"You're not going anywhere in your condition," Lily said, "These cuts are pretty deep."

"Then you better go now, Liz," sighed James, "He won't be awake until the later morning so you won't have to talk to him. Please, I know he'd want you by his side. He's…well he wasn't doing well when I left. He really tore himself up tonight, Merlin knows why."

Elizabeth nodded mutely and quietly left the dormitory and went through the portrait hole. Looking around for anyone, she quickly turned the knob on her necklace to the right and walked to the Hospital Wing, invisible to anyone who would've been around the corridors. Liz reached her destination and reached for the door handle, pausing a moment and looking at her shaking hand.

_Relax Liz, he would do the same if it was you,_ she thought, took a deep breath, and opened the door just wide enough to slip her body in.

Elizabeth knew which bed was Remus', it was the only one with shades drawn around it. No one else was in there, the beds were empty and Madame Pomfrey wasn't around. Liz tiptoed across the room and pulled the shades aside so she could see Remus. She held in her gasp but her eyes went wide at the sight.

Bandages covered his arms and chest while the scratches on his face healed. The ones on his face wouldn't scar, but his arms and chest would definitely have more marks. Elizabeth felt her eyes filling with tears at the sight and she sat down in a chair by his bed. Carefully, she touched his hand and wiped her eyes with her free hand.

"Merlin Remus, what did you to yourself?" she whispered. He didn't move but continued resting. "I know you're not yourself when it happens, but I wish you wouldn't hurt yourself. You're usually so good when the guys are with you. What happened tonight?"

His sandy hair fell in his face so Elizabeth pushed it back, smiling through her silent tears at seeing his face.

"I always thought you were handsome, even with the scars. I dunno, I guess I thought they were mysterious and added character to your face," she said with a quiet chuckle, "I can still remember the first day I met you. Merlin, was I so embarrassed! I thought you'd not want to talk to me because of what happened, but you were as friendly as could be. I've had a crush on you since day one, did you know that? You were open-minded, kind, hilarious, and, like I said before, handsome. I never thought you'd notice me though.

"Having you as my boyfriend was…amazing," said Elizabeth, "I got to know you so much more than before. I learned that I love you, so much so that I was even going to tell you on Valentine's Day. However, I-I understand that you don't like me like that that and I'm all right with it."

Sighing, Elizabeth wrapped her hand around his and gave it a light squeeze. Suddenly, Liz covered her mouth to stifle a scream when he squeezed her hand back. Liz watched as Remus' eyes opened slowly and he turned to look at her.

"Hey," he said groggily, a small smile on his lips.

"H-Hi," whispered Elizabeth, removing her hand from his and scooting her chair back slightly. Remus noticed this and frowned.

"Am I really that repulsive?" he asked bitterly.

"No!" she said indignantly, "Merlin Remus, why would you even think that? What happened tonight wasn't your fault and you need to realize that. You can't help yourself when you're in that state."

"I'm a monster, I just proved it tonight. I attacked my best friends for the love of Merlin!" Remus retorted, turning so he was looking up at the ceiling like he was hoping to burn a hole in it.

"Yes, all right, one night out of thirty on average, you're a monster. But every other night and every single day, you're…you are…"

"An open-minded, kind, hilarious, and handsome person?" he offered, the bitterness leaving and being replaced with humor as well as (Did she imagine this?) hope. Liz opened her mouth to speak but closed it, bowing her head to look at her hands. Finally, she found her voice.

"So I take it you heard me?"

"I heard someone say my name and I started coming around," he explained, "I recognized it was you and, well, I was curious to hear what you had to say. It's been almost a month since I last heard you talk to me."

Elizabeth didn't respond but kept her face bowed and hidden behind her curtain of black hair. There was some silence before Remus let out a heavy sigh and tried to sit up, gasping out in pain as he did.

"Be careful!" she said quickly and, before she knew what she was doing, she had a hand on his chest lightly pressing on him to keep him down. Liz realized this and blushed bright red, moving back to her seat when Remus took her hand and held it there.

"Elizabeth, please don't try to distance yourself from me," he whispered.

"What do you care?" asked Liz angrily, wrenching her hand out of his grip, "I should go, I need to get back to my sister."

"What do I care?" Remus repeated indignantly, "For Merlin's sake Liz, I love you! These past weeks have been absolute torture for me, okay? I've never hated myself more than now, knowing I was the reason for our breakup. Even my inner wolf knew something was up and acted out tonight. Please Elizabeth, what happened when I was under the influence of the love potion meant nothing. How many times do I have to tell you that Layna means nothing to me?"

Elizabeth froze, halfway out of her chair, and sat back down again. She stared at Remus with wide eyes, unable to take in all he said.

"You're so much better than her," he continued, "You're way smarter, prettier, and kinder than she could ever hope to be. No matter what I may have said before, I don't love her at all. Quite frankly, I find her rather repulsive now."

"You're just saying that because you miss me reading over your essays or something," said Liz quietly. Remus let out an angry low growl, causing Liz to jump in alarm.

"I would never, _ever_ compliment you to get something out of you," he said in frustration, "I care too much for you to do something like that. How could you think I'd treat you like that? Have I ever given you the impression that I used women like that?"

"N-No," Elizabeth stuttered.

"Then why would you say something like that?"

"Because the fact that you like me anything more than friends is laughable!" she snapped, eyes ablaze, "You're a Marauder, one of the most popular guys in school. Every girl is practically drooling and tripping over themselves to have you _look_ their way. They are hundreds of girls here who are way prettier than me. I'm just the nerdy twin who spends her days in the library or with her three best friends. I've never gone on a date, guys don't look at me, and I'm not pretty!"

"Whoever planted that idea in your head had too much firewhisky because you're gorgeous, okay? I haven't met a prettier girl than you and there's something to be said for a girl who takes her education seriously and is loyal to her friends," said Remus, "As for guys not looking your way, next time you walk into the Three Broomsticks, take a look around and then tell me that no guy wants you! I should know, I've seen them staring at you and worried that they would try to take advantage of you!"

Elizabeth was glaring at Remus but suddenly, she remembered what he had said before in his rant. He loved her. Did he mean that, or was it something he had said without thinking? Her glare faltered and she bowed her head, feeling a blush rush to her face.

"Did you mean what you said before?" she whispered so quietly that Remus had to strain his ears to hear her, "When you said that you…y-you loved me?"

"Yes," he replied without a thought, "Ever since Valentine's Day. I guess there's a reason why St. Valentine is the patron saint of love."

Liz chuckled and looked up. Remus was shocked to see tears in her eyes. He was about to ask what was wrong when she leaned over and kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I'm so sorry, Remus," she whispered shakily, "It's just I always thought no one would ever like me besides my friends and…I guess I overreacted when I heard you going on about Layna. I was being stupid and I'm sorry."

"It's all right," he replied, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and smiling slightly, "So does this mean you're not mad at me anymore?"

"I was never mad at you, only at myself for letting me believe you actually liked me," said Liz, moving her chair closer to him, "My mother told me I would grow up to be an old maid and I have believed her for the past five years. It's not something I can get over overnight, you know?"

"I understand," said Remus with a nod and Elizabeth smiled at him. He felt his heart flutter and sighed contentedly, closing his eyes.

"I'll let you rest," she said quietly, getting up and bending down to kiss his forehead, "Get some sleep and I'll see you tomorrow. Oh and Remus?" He grunted to let her know he was listening. "I love you too."

He snapped his eyes open but saw no one there. Sitting up and ignoring the pain, he looked up just in time to see the shade drawn and heard footsteps walking out of the building. A huge grin spread across his face as Remus lay back down. Merlin's beard, she loved him too!

_Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers! I know it's been a while since my last update but I have good news. My college applications are nearly done and I've taken my last SAT's so college stuff is coming to a close! Hooray! Okay, enough about my boring life, now it's your turn to tell me your thoughts and opinions. The only way I can improve is if you tell me what's wrong. Please leave me a review or PM me if you have any thoughts/comments/suggestions/questions. Thank you all! :) :) :) :)_


	18. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: I am not the owner of Harry Potter because if I was, I wouldn't be worried about college tuitions or application fees._

Chapter 17

Alana wiped some sweat off her brow as she finished the final spells and leaned back in her chair, panting with the effort the spell took. It had taken a lot out of her but it was worth it. Sirius was going to be fine and that was all that mattered. Alana looked at her ex-boyfriend as he slept and resisted the urge to push his hair out of his face. She smiled sadly at his sleeping form.

"Al?" Alana jumped and saw Alice watching her closely, "You need to get some sleep. You can see Sirius in the morning."

"No, I can't," she replied and rose to her feet stretching. She turned to the others in the room and said, "If Sirius asks, it was Alice who fixed him."

"What? No, I'm not going to lie to my best mate!" cried James, "Why would you even ask that of us?"

"Because I don't want him to know," Alana replied seriously.

"Why did you help him?" Frank asked suddenly.

"Just because I'm not dating him, that doesn't mean I don't love him anymore," said Alana, "But please, don't tell him it was me, okay? I don't want him thinking he needs to do me any favors."

They all nodded, although James looked extremely reluctant. Before anyone could change their minds, Alana turned on her heel and ran out of the boy's dormitory and up to hers. She sat on her bed and began thinking. She knew she had done the right thing in helping Sirius. In fact, Alana knew she couldn't have just sat there and done nothing to help him. Seeing Sirius lying there, looking like Death was hovering above him, Alana knew she needed to make sure he was all right. She had always been good with healing spells and now she was glad for that gift. Suddenly, Alana realized just how tired she was. She collapsed onto her pillow and fell asleep instantly. She didn't even wake up when her roommates came in hours later.

"How can she be asleep?" Liz asked, "I couldn't sleep if I tried."

"She's tired from healing Sirius," explained Lily, yawning, "It takes a lot out of you, trust me."

"Is James going to be all right?" Alice asked as she sat on her bed.

"Yeah, he'll be a little sore tomorrow but he'll live," said Lily with a smile, "He tried playing the whole "wounded hero" but one poke on a bruise got him to stop."

"Frank told me Peter wasn't hurt, just shaken up," said Alice, "Peter said that Remus is never like that around them."

"He told me it was because all that happened these last few weeks," Liz said, "It's okay though, I don't think it'll happen again."

"You talked with Remus? What did he say?" Lily asked eagerly.

Elizabeth told her friends everything, except about Remus saying he loved her. She felt that was a little too private to share just then. The girls squealed with delight and chatted for a while before going to bed, not realizing they were being listened to.

Lindsay was only pretending to be asleep as she lay awake, wrestling with her conflicting feelings. Remus had attacked his friends? Why would he do that? At least Peter was all right though, Lindsay wasn't sure she could handle it if Peter had been injured like the other two boys. She had finally come to grips with the fact she had fallen for Peter Pettigrew. Who would've thought that? Peter was a short, mousy-haired boy and not exactly the kind of boy Lindsay would call "hot". But there was something in his personality, perhaps his devilish smile or expressive eyes, that drew Lindsay to him.

The Gryffindor girl sighed and rolled over. Peter hadn't spoken to her since that night with Alice Lenns and Lindsay was missing his company terribly. He always made her laugh with stories of his family and the Marauders. Merlin, she missed him! Why couldn't she be a normal girl and not have to worry about helping the Death Eaters?

_Like I have much of a choice,_ she thought venomously, _They have my bloody parents!_

Lindsay shuddered violently when she remembered the last time she had seen her parents. The Death Eaters kept them in a great metal cage, taunting them and giving them barely enough food to survive. The Dark Lord had asked them to join but they refused. Just before he went to kill them, Lindsay stood in front of them and offered to help him in their place. She wouldn't let her parents die and she had saved them from death. If only she could've saved them from imprisonment.

She felt hot tears in her eyes and let them fall on her pillow. No one was awake or watching her, it was all right to cry. Lindsay curled up into a ball and cried silently until her eyelids became too heavy. At least in he dreams, her parents were happy and with her.

…...

Remus was released two days after the attack. When he arrived in the common room, he saw Elizabeth studying and smiled. N.E. were two months away and he knew his girlfriend was frantically trying to get the information into her brain early. Quietly, he snuck up behind her and slipped his hands over her eyes. Elizabeth jumped and began running her fingers along his hands thoughtfully.

"Hmm…thin fingers…must be a girl then. Is it Alana?" Liz asked innocently but Remus saw through her act.

"Ha ha, very funny," he said sarcastically and pecked her on the cheek before sitting down next to her, "What are you studying?"

"Potions," she replied, setting the book down, "But I could use the study break. The others either went to Quidditch practice or went to watch the practice. So Madame Pomfrey let you out or did you sneak out when she wasn't looking?"

"She let me go and deemed me healthy enough for school," said Remus, "How're James and Sirius doing?"

"James is totally fine. Lily fixed him up and his scratches weren't very deep. Sirius is getting better slowly, although too slowly for his liking. He hates not being able to practice without wincing in pain. Al did all she could do but Sirius' chest was pretty messed up when he was brought to us," said Elizabeth, eyeing Remus carefully.

"Does he know that Alana healed him?" Remus asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, Al didn't want anyone to say anything," Elizabeth replied quietly, looking around for listeners, "Sirius thinks it's Alice so every time it bothers him, he snaps at Alice. Alana doesn't say anything but I can tell it's bothering her. I think Frank's about ready to kill him because Alice can't do anything to help Sirius. She can't even mend a paper cut."

"I don't blame him," chuckled Remus, leaning back in his chair.

The portrait hole opened and their friends came in. James, Sirius, and Alana looked absolutely exhausted while the others kept throwing anxious glances at Sirius as the young man collapsed into a chair. He let out a loud groan and clutched his chest, wincing.

"Dammit Alice, can't you do something?" he snarled, "I can barely swing my bloody bat without it feeling like something's ripping my chest open!"

"Bad practice then?" Remus asked and James looked up, smiling at his friend.

"All better then? Good, you had us worried there mate," said James and looked at Sirius before continuing, "It was rough to put it lightly. The team isn't acting like a team and it's affecting our plays. I had us run drills until our bums were numb."

"Just because you enjoy being a masochist doesn't mean you need to work the team until we're about to collapse," said Alana, joining her sister and sitting gingerly down in the chair.

"I'm not a masochist! I just enjoy good, honest exercise," James said defensively and Lily laughed.

"James, I watched you and you know I love you but what you were doing was the equivalent of a drill sergeant," she said, kissing him on the cheek and still laughing at her boyfriend.

"We're so close to winning the Cup and this is our last year. Call me a competitive asshole if you want, but I _want_ that Cup this year! And if I have to whip my team into shape, I'll do it."

"Competitive asshole," Alana muttered and everyone laughed, except Sirius who scowled at Alice.

"Lenns, you need to do something," he spat angrily, wincing again, "I'm sorry Remus, but you have a nasty set of claws."

"It's all right Sirius," said Remus quietly, "I'm sorry about what happened."

"It's fine," Sirius said, waving his hand and gasping in pain, "Alice, please!"

"Why do you keep asking her to help you?" Frank snapped as Alice stuttered, trying to respond without giving anything away, "Can't someone else work with you?"

"Does anyone else know how to heal? I don't think so!"

"Lily can, ask her!" Frank retorted.

Lily sighed and went over to Sirius, instructing him to remove his shirt. Remus saw James visibly tense but Lily threw him a charming smile and he relaxed. Lily got to work, frowning in concentration. Alana watched her closely while pretending not to be interested. When Lily raised her wand and started saying a spell, however, Alana cried out and rose to her feet.

"No!" she said, grabbing Lily's wand, "You can't use that spell until the wound is completely closed, otherwise he'll start bleeding heavily."

Instinctively, Alana knelt down and began running her wand across Sirius' chest while muttering spells under her breath. She was so lost in what she was doing that she didn't notice Sirius' gaze on her or that the room went silent as she worked. Remus caught Liz's gaze and she just shrugged, a knowing smile creeping across her face. Alana finally finished, panting from the effort and pushing her hair off her face as Sirius slipped his shirt back on and buttoned it up.

"Feel better now?" she asked politely, stowing her wand away.

"Y-Yeah, thanks," stuttered Sirius and Alana gave him a tentative smile before the portrait hole opened and Professor McGonagall came in.

"Potter, the Headmaster wishes to speak with you," she said in an unrecognizable tone. Elizabeth frowned as she tried to figure out what that meant.

"I didn't do it, I swear!" James cried out, raising his hands.

"You aren't in trouble, Potter," the Head of Gryffindor said and Elizabeth realized what that tone was: sympathy. She felt her stomach plummet as she looked at her friends. No one else seemed to pick up on the tone of McGonagall's voice.

"Is everything all right?" asked James, rising to his feet.

"Professor Dumbledore will explain everything to you." She pointedly ignored the question. Liz felt her heart race with a sense of foreboding. As James left with his Head of House, the older woman turned to the group and her eyes rested on Sirius. "Black, you had better come as well I believe."

Sirius nodded without a word and left the common room. As soon as the portrait closed shut, Elizabeth looked at her sister.

"Did you notice her tone?" she asked in a rush, "Something's not right."

"But why would she ask Sirius to come as well?" asked Alana, sitting down next to her sister as the rest of the group thought about this too. No one had ever expected what would happen when James and Sirius finally returned many hours later to the common room.

The first thing Lily noticed was James' eyes. They were bloodshot and shining. His face was red as well. He had been crying. James Potter had cried, and it looked like he had been crying pretty hard. She quickly looked at Sirius and saw his face was blank, but so were his eyes. He looked like a living zombie.

"James, what is it?" she asked softly and he looked at her. He shook his head and looked down at his hands. "Sirius? Sirius, please tell me what's going on?"

"It's not my story to tell," he said dully and James snapped his head up.

"They loved you like another son, Sirius. You have as much right to say something as I do. You are a part of our family too. Why else do you think McGonagall asked for you to come?"

Lily noticed the past tense and suddenly realized what Dumbledore had told James.

"Oh no, it isn't your parents, is it?" she whispered and he nodded, "James, I'm so sorry. What…What happened?"

"That guy named Voldemort got to them. He had been trying to get them to join his side, but they refused," said James so quietly that Lily had to lean in to hear him, "After he killed them, he burnt the house down. Th-There's nothing left."

Sirius stood up suddenly and went up to the dormitories. Remus looked over at Liz and followed his friend up, Peter following Remus. Lily placed a hand on James' and looked at him sadly.

"I'm really sorry James. I know exactly what you're going through and that saying that doesn't help much but-"

"I don't need your sympathy!" James snapped, rising to his feet and ripping his hand out of Lily's, "You have no idea what I'm feeling right now! I was their only child, I have to bury them alone! How could you know how that feels?"

"James, you don't know what you're saying," said Alana gently, "Please just sit down and-"

"I know damn well what I'm talking about!" yelled James, slamming his hand on a nearby table and causing everyone to jump. He rounded on Lily and continued, "Don't you dare talk about things you don't understand!"

"I understand perfectly James," Lily said, standing up too. Even though she was a head shorter than James, her persona seemed to make her taller. "Don't you remember? My parents were killed too! My sister doesn't speak to me and wouldn't let me help with planning the service. I was only allowed to go because I begged! I had no shoulder to cry on the entire time. I know the pain and sadness you're feeling right now, so don't even _think_ about telling me I don't understand! I understand more than I wish I did."

Lily glared furiously before turning around and going to her dormitory. James watched her go before slamming himself into a chair and staring at the fire. The rest of the girls left quickly so it was just Frank and James.

"Can you believe Lily? How could she even say those things?" James asked coldly.

"I know this is just your grief talking so I'll restrain the urge to tell you to shut your mouth, James," said Frank angrily.

"Oh no, not you too!"

"Yes James, I'm on Lily's side here," Frank said, "Lily's parents were murdered too, don't you remember? Sure, it wasn't intentional, but a driver killed them with their car. She knows what it's like to lose her parents. As for having sibling support, she's in the same boat as you there as well. Her sister hates her and hasn't talked to her since first year. I highly doubt she was supportive during that time. Lily was just trying to help you and you pushed her away. If I were you, I'd apologize. It doesn't have to be now, I know you're still trying to wrap your head around what happened. However, I think the sooner you say something, the better it'll be for you. Lily's the girl of your dreams James, do you really want to lose her over something like this?"

"No," whispered James, running his hand through his hair, "You're right. I'll say something later. I just…need to be alone now."

"If you need anyone, we're here if you need us," said Frank and he left James alone to think. He had a feeling James would have a lot of private reflection to do over the next few days.

_Author's Note: Hello my lovely readers, how are you today? I am proud to say that my applications are nearly done so I will have more time to update in the future. Hooray! So how are you liking the story so far? Let me know if there's anything you want me to do to make the story better or more entertaining to read. If you have any questions or just want to talk feel free to PM me or write a review. You know me, I love hearing from my readers! I'll try and update as soon as possible, definitely before Halloween though. Thank you all! :)_


	19. Chapter 18

_Author's Note: I am not the author of the Harry Potter series because they belong to J.K Rowling. I am not her but merely a high school student who wishes she lived in the Harry Potter world._

Chapter 18

Days turned into weeks and still Lily and James were not talking. Alana watched this all with sadness. Even though she didn't have a happy ending with her Marauder, she still wanted the same for her friends. Liz and Remus were still tentative around each other, but at least they were together. Frank and Alice were getting along after Alice's "accident", as they liked to call it. Alice was more paranoid than usual and refused to be alone for even a second, but that was to be expected. With what she went though, Alana was surprised how normal she seemed. However, Frank seemed so unsure around her as if he was afraid to act normal around her. It was like he didn't want to frighten her all over again.

As for Sirius, well, she didn't like to think about it. The news of the Potter's death had hit him hard. His scars from the attack had healed, but his new internal wounds would take much longer than any gash made by a werewolf. Alana wished with all her heart that she could be there to comfort him, but distance was the only way she could deal with him. If she got too close to him, she would want to get back together and that was not an option for her. Alana refused to be used.

Alana missed the good old days they had at the beginning of the year; the times when the four Marauders planned pranks and laughed with each other, the times Al and her friends watched the Marauders and laughed at their stupid ideas. What had happened to those happy times? Why did this Voldemort guy have to stick his damn nose into their lives and ruin everything?

"Alana?"

The girl jumped at being addressed and saw Elizabeth looking at her with concern. Alana rubbed her tired eyes and leaned back in her seat. The twins were supposed to be studying for the impending N.E. and Al had zoned out while reading about Peruvian Petunias for Herbology.

"Sorry, were you asking me something?" Al asked, smiling slightly at her sister.

"Nothing in particular, but would you mind telling me what you were thinking about? You looked so serious."

"It wasn't anything important, don't worry sis," said Alana, putting on a smile that Elizabeth saw straight through.

"Look Alana, just because your less than five minutes older than me doesn't mean you need to hide stuff from me to protect me," Elizabeth said, frowning deeply, "I'm your twin for Merlin's sake! My telepathy is telling me something's bothering you, so spill."

"I…It's just that…What happened to us Lizzy?"

"What do you mean?" her sister asked in confusion.

"We were so happy before! We had no worries, we were all in love, and now look at us. Alice is terrified of being left alone and Frank doesn't know what to do, you and Remus are walking on eggshells around each other, Lily and James can't even _look_ at each other, and I'm...well," said Alana, pausing as her sister gave her a sympathetic look, "Let's just say things are different now."

"Alice just needs time, Al. Frank understands that and he's just worried. Madame Pomfrey said it would take time for Alice to go back to her old self," Elizabeth said quietly, "James is starting to miss Lily and he'll come around soon I expect. Lily may not be willing to forgive him at first, but they'll turn out okay. They were meant for each other, as James loved to remind us for the last six years."

Alana chuckled at that but stopped when Liz sighed. "As for Remus and I, we're going to be all right. He understands that I'm not the most confident girl at Hogwarts and I know that he really does care about me. We're just trying to be careful this time around. You're going to be okay too, Al. With or without Sirius, you're a strong girl and will get through this."

Liz gave her sister a comforting hug and Alana sighed, holding her sister tight. Elizabeth had the uncanny ability to make her feel so calm. If Liz said everything would be all right, Alana knew it would be.

"Thanks Liz, I really needed that."

"No problem sis, that's what I'm here for."

They laughed and went back to their frantic studying, glad to have that to keep their minds occupied.

…...

"What's going on ladies?" Remus asked, trying to see over the top of people's heads.

"Damn to Merlin, curse my shortness!" Lily cried out, "Hey Al, can I sit on your shoulders so I can read what's happening?"

"No way, you'll crush me," said Alana with a smirk, causing Lily to glare for a second before the girls started laughing.

"Let me get Frank, he's tall enough to see," said Alice, running over to a table and grabbing her boyfriend, dragging him back to them, "Frank, what's going on over there?"

"There's some announcement…the print's really small from here, hold on," said Frank, squinting, "Ah, there we go. It says all seventh years are to report to the Great Hall after lunch today for an announcement. Wonder what that's about?"

"Well it's not about the Marauders," said Remus quietly, "We haven't planned anything in weeks."

"I'm innocent, I swear," Al said, raising her hands like she was being arrested.

"Looks like we'll have to wait," said Remus, "Come on, before all the food is gone. I think James and Sirius are starting to get their appetites back."

"Yay," Lily and Alana said together in a sarcastic tone. Remus threw the girls an apologetic look and walked down to the Great Hall with Liz.

The morning went by slowly as Remus tapped his foot impatiently. What was the meeting about? Did it have anything to do with this Voldemort guy? Remus had noticed that a lot more students were walking around with puffy red eyes and he knew families were being torn apart. He could only hope every day that his family, and those of his friends, would remain relatively safe.

Finally the bell rang for lunch and Remus packed up, rushing out of the Muggle Studies classroom. Before he would've waited for Sirius but lately, the other boy had shrunk away from everyone else so Remus decided to wait until Sirius was ready to talk. Besides, he was dying to know what this secret meeting was about. Upon entering the Great Hall, he saw his girlfriend give him a shy wave while her twin stood on a bench and waved her arms like a maniac. Laughing, he walked over and took his seat next to Liz.

"Honestly Al, was that necessary?" Elizabeth asked her twin, a small smile playing across her face.

"Of course, how was he going to see you with that itty bitty wave of yours?" said Alana with a wicked grin.

Lily joined them with Frank and Alice behind her. Peter squeezed between Lily and Alice, smiling as he looked around.

"Where's Sirius and James?" he asked, clueless as always. Remus wanted to kick his friend in the shins but then he risked kicking the wrong person. There were too many people around. Lily's face darkened and she looked at her hands. Alana looked like she hadn't heard the question…unless you happened to see her white knuckles as she gripped the edge of the table.

"Dunno, Sirius was still in the room when I left," said Remus off-handedly and shrugged. Just then, thankfully, Dumbledore rose to his feet and the hall fell silent.

"I know you all have been wondering what this is about and, consequently, have not given your morning teachers the proper attention," said the Headmaster and a few students chuckled.

"He doesn't miss a thing, does he?" Remus whispered to Elizabeth and she nodded.

"Must know every trick in the book…besides the ones you've made up of course," she returned, "Now shush! We should be paying attention." Remus chuckled and turned his attention to Dumbledore.

"Graduation is fast approaching and every year, the students with the best grades during their seven years here are chosen to give a speech," said the old man, his eyes twinkling, "The student with the highest grade is called the valedictorian and the second highest student is called the salutatorian. In order to give these students ample time to prepare and practice their speeches, we are here to announce and congratulate them."

Remus looked at Elizabeth and Lily. Both girls were looking at each other with genuine smiles and were silently wishing the other the best of luck. He looked around the Great Hall and noticed many of the students staring at the two Gryffindors, as if sizing them up. Making eye contact with a few, Remus glared at them and caused the students to look away.

"This year's salutatorian is…Remus Lupin of Gryffindor."

Remus blinked blankly, unsure if he heard right. Suddenly Elizabeth was embracing him and he realized he wasn't making it up. Shakily, Remus rose to his feet and went to Dumbledore. He shook the Headmaster's hand in a daze and the old man smiled at the young man before him.

"Congratulations Remus, you deserve this," he said and Remus nodded, unable to speak. He returned to his seat and waited anxiously for Dumbledore to continue.

"This year is a little different. You see, we have not one but _two_ students with the exact same grades. That is why this year's valedictorians are Lily Evans and Elizabeth Tortelli."

Alana let out a scream and jumped up, attacking her sister by hugging her tightly. She then vaulted over the table and did the same to Lily as the rest of the students applauded. Remus drew Elizabeth in close and chuckled.

"I knew you would get it," he whispered in her ear.

"I can't believe this," she said into his shoulder. Pulling away, she embraced Lily before the two girls went up to shake hands with Dumbledore.

"She deserves this…they both do really," said Alana, staring at her sister with pride, "I knew that brain of hers couldn't be overlooked." She turned to Remus and hugged him as Remus blushed with embarrassment. "Congratulations to you as well Mr. Smarty Pants!"

Elizabeth came back with Lily and the four girls and three boys started to leave the Great Hall. As they waited to get through the main door, a group o Ravenclaws were complaining loud enough for them to hear.

"Dumbledore's obviously playing favorites. I mean seriously, why does Gryffindor always get the glory?" one girl asked in a huff.

"Beats me, and he has to know that those three are all close friends," a boy said angrily, "In fact, Evans and Tortelli are best friends. He just didn't want to hurt their feelings. They don't deserve-"

But the boy didn't finish his statement because Alana whipped out her wand and shoved the boy against a wall. She had her wand pointed at his chest and she looked absolutely livid. The fire that blazed in her eyes when she was angry was roaring as she glared at the boy.

"How dare you insinuate that my sister and Lily don't deserve this honor?" she hissed, "Take it back you bastard or so help me, you'll be spending N.E. and graduation in the Hospital Wing unable to do anything but gurgle like a newborn!"

"Al, please!" said Elizabeth, coming up next to her sister and putting a hand on her shoulder, "He's not worth it."

"Oh yes he is!" she snapped, not tearing her gaze away from the shaking Ravenclaw, "Because if you insult my friends, _my family_, you're insulting me, got it buddy?" He nodded, whimpering.

"I-I-I d-didn't m-m-mean it," he stuttered, knowing full well the extent of Alana Tortelli's temper.

"Good because if you did, you'd have to go through me and frankly, you wouldn't make it out alive," she said with sickening sweetness as she stowed her wand away and spun on her heel. She reached the Entrance Hall and stopped, waiting for the others to catch up.

"Wow Alana, I've never seen you like that before," said Frank, "I mean sure you've threatened people, but that was different."

"You shouldn't have done that, sis," Elizabeth said quietly, "The entire Ravenclaw House is going to take it out on you now and the Quidditch field is an excellent place to do that and make it look like an accident."

"Ah, but I've got a bat," said Al with a wink and her friends laughed, "I'm going to get some air before our next period so I'll see you guys later."

They nodded and headed up the stairs while Alana walked across the grounds. She stopped at the tree by the lake and sat under it, staring out as the Giant Squid raised a tentacle out of the water lazily before slapping it on the clear surface. She heard footsteps and turned around to see, unfortunately, Sirius walking by with his hands in his robes. He stopped when he saw her and they looked at each other before Alana turned back to the lake.

"Hey," he said quietly, almost shyly.

_Since when is Sirius shy?_ she thought. "Hi," she replied.

Silence passed between them, but Sirius did not continue walking. Instead, he moved closer to her and leaned against the tree, still standing and towering above her sitting form.

"Congratulations by the way," said Sirius suddenly and Al looked up at him as he continued, "For your sister I mean. If any people deserve that honor, it's Lily and your sister. They're the two hardest workers I know."

"Oh…thank you Sirius. Congratulations for Remus as well."

Sirius nodded and looked at the tree with a small, almost wistful smile. He placed his hand on the bark and chuckled lightly to himself.

"Do you remember when we used to just sit under this tree together and talk?" he asked softly, "We used to have to light our wands in order to get back to the castle without killing ourselves by tripping over sticks or something. Everyone thought we were in a broom cupboard, I remember." Al watched him sigh and look down at her. She was shocked to see a deep sadness and pain behind his stormy grey eyes. Wanting to look away but unable to at the same time, Alana looked at those sad eyes. "What happened to us, Al?" Sirius whispered.

"We fell apart, it happens between the closest of couples," muttered Alana but Sirius shook his head, his hair falling in his eyes.

"No, you broke it off and never told me why. Please Alana, I'm not asking to get back together with you but to tell me why. I've spent the last few weeks wondering what the bloody hell I did wrong."

"You hadn't done anything wrong, not yet at least," Al said, rising to her feet and brushing herself off, "It was what you were planning on doing, what you were going to ask of me that caused us to fall apart."

"What was I going to ask you?" he asked, totally confused.

_Damn he's a good actor,_ thought Alana as she sighed and said aloud, "You know perfectly well so don't play dumb with me, okay?"

"I'm not joking, what did you think I was going to ask?" he repeated with a frown, "Because the question I wanted to ask you that night was-"

"Don't say it! I can't stand the thought of you asking me something like that, let alone actually hearing it," said Alana, backing away from Sirius.

"What's wrong with asking if you're feeling all right?" Sirius cried out angrily, "Is it wrong of me to ask after your health? Would you prefer I ignore the fact that my girlfriend at the time barely spoke to me? All I wanted to know was what was wrong, what the bloody hell did you think I was going to ask you?"

Alana stopped backing away and looked at Sirius with a frown. He seemed to be telling the truth, his face was void of any trace of deception. She took a deep breath and looked out at the lake as she spoke, so as not to see his face.

"I know about the other girls before you and I got together," she whispered, "I know how you asked them…" she swallowed hard and continued, "how you asked them to have sex with you. If they didn't, you broke up with them. If they did, you still broke up with them. I couldn't stand the thought of having to make that choice so I ended it before anything could happen."

Sirius was silent as she continued to stare at the rippling water. Finally, she heard a huge sigh.

"Who told you that?" he asked, his voice calm and with no emotion. Alana bit her lip, so it really was true.

"Taylor Lane."

"I should've guessed," chuckled Sirius and Al whipped her head around to face him. How could he _laugh_ about something like that?

"So it's true then, huh?" snapped Alana, hearing the hurt in her own voice but not caring. It was about time she gave him a piece of her mind. "You were going to ask me to do that! I can't believe you, Sirius! How dare you think you could use me like that and then just toss me aside like some object? Well let me tell you Black, I am not an object. I have feelings, okay? And lately, I've been feeling like…" Her voice broke and she took a breath before continuing, "I've been feeling like absolute shit because I'm a huge idiot. I fell in love with the biggest playboy in Hogwarts history and let myself believe he actually cared!"

Alana started to storm off but Sirius caught her arm and whirled her around to face him. She raised her other hand to slap him, but he grabbed that as well and held her as she struggled in vain. Even though Alana was the other Beater on the team, Sirius was still stronger than her. Finally, she stopped and her shoulders drooped, her head bowed.

"Please," she begged in a whisper and Sirius was shocked to hear how broken she sounded, "Just let me go."

"Al, I wasn't laughing at you or anything like that," said Sirius gently, putting a hand under her chin and raising her eyes to meet his, "I was laughing because of how ridiculous it was. Why do you think my relationships never lasted long?"

"Because you got what you wanted," Alana muttered and Sirius sighed.

"No, because I never wanted them to be too serious, no pun intended," he added with a smile and Al turned away to hide a small smile of her own. "If I felt the girl wanted, uh…_more_ out of the relationship, I broke it off because, quite frankly, I never wanted a serious relationship at Hogwarts."

Alana continued to stare at the grass, trying to wrap her mind around what this young man before her was saying.

"However," he continued in a quiet tone, "I had been rethinking that previous thought." Al looked up at him with wide eyes and he said quickly, "Of course I wasn't going to force you to do anything you weren't comfortable with. I was just going to tell you how I felt and hoped you felt even a little of how I did."

"Well I highly doubt you feel the same way now, so it's all right. It's been weeks since we were together, I'm sure you've managed to move on."

"No Alana, I haven't "managed to move on" actually," said Sirius with a hint of frustration, "You can't _move on_ after the woman you love told you that she doesn't care about you. You said I don't care? Sometimes I think I care too much but Merlin dammit, I wouldn't change anything I did except the thing that caused you to break up with me! I would go through the heartbreak again because before that, I was truly happy for once in my life. Sure I was happy planning pranks with my friends, but having your whole damn family breathing down your neck is a bit of damper. When I was with you, my family didn't matter. I never worried about them and I let myself be…normal I guess, for lack of a better term."

There was silence as Sirius ran a hand through his hair and Alana took everything in. Finally, she spoke but refused to look up.

"I wouldn't change anything either," she whispered so Sirius had to bend down slightly to hear her, "And I didn't mean it when I said I didn't care, because I really do…a lot actually. I haven't been able to move on, I can't move on."

Sirius again raised her chin so he could look at her properly. Her eyes were shinning with unshed tears as she tried desperately to hold them back. He held his arms out and Alana immediately embraced him, laying her head on his chest as Sirius held her close.

"This is real, right?" she asked, unsure, "I'm not going to wake up and realize this is all a dream and that you're really gone?"

"Alana," he said slowly and clearly, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise you that. I love you too much to leave."

"I love you too Sirius," said Alana and she felt him kiss the top of her head.

"I have something for you." Al looked up and stepped back as Sirius reached into the pocket of his robes and pulled out a small box. "I've carried this around with me hoping for a chance to talk to you, and here we are. Open it."

Alana took the box and opened it, gasping. Inside was a gold woven band with a red ruby encased in the gold. It was simple, but beautiful. She looked at Sirius in shock.

"Sirius, are you…?"

"It's not an engagement ring if that's what you're thinking," said Sirius, "Andromeda was telling me about them though. It's like a pre-engagement ring, she called it a promise ring. It means that after Hogwarts, and whenever you're ready, I'd like to get married."

"A-Are you sure? I mean, we're so young…"

"Al, there's a war coming. I hate to say it, but we don't know how long we're going to be alive. I plan on joining Dumbledore in the fight and I know you'll want to help as well. I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life. I want to spend every moment I can with you by my side and-"

He was interrupted by Alana handing him the box. His voice died and it was like his world stopped moving…until she held out her left hand with a huge smile.

"Well? Aren't you going to put it on me?" she asked.

Sirius took the ring out of the box and slipped it on Alana's finger. Grinning like a school boy, he picked her up and spun her around. His heart felt like it was going to burst when he heard Al's laugh in his ear. He knew there would be fights and arguments, but they would get through it together. They loved each other too much to let that get in between them again.

_Author's Note: Hello my readers! __**This is extremely important so please read this note! **__I am planning the final chapters of this story out in my head and need your help. This story has the potential to go AU and continue on into Harry's years at Hogwarts. I won't say how because I don't want to give it away but Harry will have another friend, my OC, with him at Hogwarts. Would you all be willing to read that? **PLEASE **let me know so I can continue writing and you can continue to get updates._

_Now moving on, what did you think of this chapter? Did you like the valedictorian idea? I'm getting ready to write the graduation scene so if you don't like it now, hopefully you like it then. Also, what did you think of Sirius' and the promise ring? Please don't think of it like a Jonas Brothers' promise ring, think of it as a pre-engagement ring like Sirius said. It was just to let Alana know how he felt._

_Okay, I'm done now. Thank you all to my reviewers and those who have put this in their favorites. It's so awesome that you all like the story. I know this was supposed to go up yesterday but certain life events prevented me, as well as a huge Halloween party my sister had for her friends at my house. My costume was a Harry Potter nerd, not even joking. :D So Happy Belated Halloween and Happy 1__st__ of November everyone! :)_


	20. Chapter 19

_Author's Note: I'm not the owner of Harry Potter. If anyone thought that I was, you obviously don't pay attention to these notes anyway so why do I bother writing them? Oh right, so people don't think I'm plagiarizing. WARNING: there's a little bit of strong language towards the middle/end of the story. It's during the memory so ye be warned!_

Chapter 19

"Evans, great job!"

"I knew you'd get it Evans!"

"Woohoo, Gryffindor is on fire with the awards today!"

"Congratulations Lily."

Lily turned around after thanking a group of Gryffindors that she passed on the way. Severus was standing behind her with his hands in his pockets, smiling awkwardly.

"Oh…thanks," she said.

"I always knew you'd get it," he said, "And tell Tortelli congratulations for me as well."

"Thank you Severus, I'll be sure to."

He waved and walked towards the dungeons, Lily smiling sadly after him. It really was a shame they couldn't be friends anymore. Sighing, she started walking back to her common room. She told the others she would meet up with them later but she just wanted some time alone. Lately, she felt herself wanting some time to herself. Maybe it was the fight with James, maybe it was the upcoming N.E. but whatever it was she just preferred time to think in peace.

"Was that Snape I just saw?"

Lily jumped and spun around to see James leaning casually against the stone wall. In the light of a torch, Lily couldn't help noticing how pale he looked with huge dark bags under his eyes. He obviously hadn't been taking his parents' deaths well. Lily knew how hard it was; she had nightmares for months after her parents died.

"Yeah, he was just congratulating Liz and me," she replied coolly.

"Right…well, congratulations Lily, by the way. If anyone deserves to be head of the class, it's you and Liz."

"Thanks James." Silence fell and Lily didn't know what else to say.

"I should get going I guess, I've got Herbology next," said James and he let out a huge yawn, trying to cover it with his hand.

"How long have you had the nightmares?" she asked. She didn't know why or how she knew it was that keeping him up at night, but it just seemed right to ask. James' eyes went wide in shock and Lily knew her gut feeling was correct.

"I…Ever since McGonagall told me," James replied, looking away, "It started out seeing them die but lately-"

"-it's been the people you care about most," finished Lily and continued when James looked shocked again, "I had the same problem after my parents' funeral. It started out as Alana and Elizabeth, then Alice and Remus, and then you. Yours were the longest and worst as a matter of fact. I would wake up screaming and wouldn't calm down until the wee hours of the morning. I thought Al was going to kill me after the second month, but she knew I was going through a rough time. She just couldn't understand why I woke up screaming your name."

"How did you get them to stop?" he asked.

"Time and patience…and learning to live everyday like it's the last," said Lily with a shrug, "Death teaches you that life is shorter than we originally think it to be. I learned to spend more time with my closest friends instead of always running off to the library for unnecessary studying. And when I did have to study, I learned the benefits of group studying. Start spending time with the people in your dreams James, and it'll get better over time."

She started walking away when James shouted, "Lily!" and tore after her. "Lily, I'm sorry about before," he said quickly, "I was too wrapped up in my own grief to realize you were just trying to help. I didn't mean what I said because I know you understand exactly what I'm going through. Can you forgive me, please? I'm so sorry."

"I…I need some time to think about this," she said quietly, unable to look at James, "What you said really hurt me and I can't just forgive you like nothing happened. You need to understand what you said was low, lower than I ever thought of you."

"Believe me, I know," James said, "Every night I'm reminded of what I said. You were right, the people I care about are dying in my dreams. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and you die every night and there are some times were I wake up in the morning and can't remember if it was dream or reality. I think of the last words I said to you and it makes me sick."

Lily managed to look at James and saw the torture on his face. She reached out and took his hand, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Consider yourself half forgiven," she said with a tiny smile, "You've got to earn the rest of it back, are you up for the challenge Mr. Potter?"

"Oh yes, most definitely," said James, pulling Lily in and hugging her, "Thank you Lily, you're too good to me and I love you so much."

"I love you too James, that's why I'm doing this," Lily replied, relaxing in his arms, "Now as much as I hate to say this, we've got class to go to. I'll see you tonight in the common room?"

"I'll be there."

Lily grinned and ruffled James' already messy hair before throwing him a wink and walking off. James watched her go, sighed dreamily, and practically skipped out of the castle and to the greenhouses.

…...

The Quidditch Final was getting closer and it was Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. The Gryffindor team was practicing every night from dinner until practically midnight. Alice and Elizabeth were up quizzing each other for N.E. when the team came in dripping in sweat and their muscles shaking.

"How can you guys see the balls when it's pitch black out?" Alice asked curiously as Elizabeth helped her sister into a chair. The rest of the team tromped up the stairs except for James, Alana, and Sirius.

"James bloody Potter decided to use _Lumos Maxima_ so we're able to see," said Alana darkly, glaring at James as though she could burn a hole through his head, "What a smart captain we have, am I right?"

"Oh yeah, he's bloody brilliant," Sirius said sarcastically.

"Thanks to those practices, you guys are finally playing like a team," said James.

"No, that's only because your Beaters aren't angry at each other anymore," said Elizabeth and Al and Sirius chuckled, interlocking hands.

"The match is this weekend and I want to make sure my team is totally prepared."

"Trust me Prongs, we're prepared!" Sirius said, yawning and rising to his feet, "I'm off to bed because I'm wiped. I guess the only thing I can thank James for is assuring me a good night's sleep. I have a feeling I'll be sleeping like a rock tonight."

"Good night Sirius!"

"Night Padfoot!"

Sirius waved over his shoulder and climbed up the stairs. James chuckled and looked over at his best friend's girlfriend, finding her looking better than she had in days. When she smiled, it was real and not cynical in anyway.

"You need to go to bed too Al," said James as he left, "I don't want a tired team!"

"Then don't work us so bloody hard!" Al shouted after her captain as he ran up the stairs, "Honestly, the boy is worse than a drill sergeant."

"I'm sure it'll be worth it when we kick some Ravenclaw ass," said Liz and Alana let out a joking gasp.

"My innocent sister just cursed? Impossible!"

"Hey, there are two things that you don't mess with: the people I care about and our Quidditch team," Elizabeth said.

The day of the match, the seventh years all got up early. Those who weren't on the team decked themselves out in red and gold. Elizabeth painted designs on those willing to go all out. Remus came up behind her and admired the work she did on Alice's arm. It was of a cub cleaning its paw with a pile of raven's feathers beside it.

"Wow, a little vicious don't you think?" Remus asked with a grin as Liz looked up with a smile of her own.

"You should've seen what I painted on a third year boy's cheek," said Elizabeth with wink, "Okay Alice, you're all done. Let's grab some food and get good seats before everyone else. I'll see you after the game Remus?"

"You bet, hopefully we'll be celebrating," said Remus as his girlfriend gave him a swift kiss on the cheek and waved before leaving with Alice.

"We have to make sure we save Lily, Frank, and Peter seats," said Alice as they reached the Great Hall and grabbed food to go.

"Don't worry, I brought jackets so we can claim our territory," Elizabeth laughed, "I can't believe this is our last Quidditch game at Hogwarts. Doesn't it seem like only yesterday that you were explaining the rules to the rest of us while we watched our first Quidditch game?"

Alice nodded eagerly, thinking back to that day. It really did seem like only a few days ago.

_She was sitting in between Lily and Alana while Elizabeth was on her sister's other side. The girls were listening with rapt attention as Alice explained the rules as they waited for the game to start._

_"And then you have the Seeker who has the most important position on the team," Alice was saying eagerly, "He has to avoid the Bludgers and catch this tiny golden ball that flies around the stadium. When he does this, the game is over and usually his team will win. The Snitch is worth one hundred and fifty points."_

_"What happens if they can't find the Snitch?" Liz asked curiously._

_"The game keeps playing. Some games have lasted days and a few even longer than that."_

_"That sounds like the silliest sport I've ever heard of!" cried Lily in shock, "There are over fifteen different ways someone could __die__ and people still play?"_

_"Oh yeah, it's one of the most ancient sports in the Wizarding world," said Alice with an excited smile, "Trust me, it's amazing to watch. I've been to a few professional games and sometimes you can't even tell where the Quaffle is."_

_"That's the red ball, right?" Al asked, her face scrunched up in thought. Alice nodded and Al sighed with relief. "Good, I'm finally learning something."_

_"About time too," said a male voice and the girls turned around, two of them groaning loudly while one blushed and the other raised her eyebrows at the speaker. Sirius was smirking while James did the same, although he kept stealing glances at Lily while Sirius looked squarely at Alana. Al glared back, her gaze unwavering. Remus looked apologeticly at the girls while Peter glanced between the two groups, as if evaluating the situation and seeing which side he should be on._

_"Give them a break Sirius," said Alice as her eyebrows rose higher, "This is their first game. Quidditch has a lot of complicated rules."_

_"You'll catch on quickly once the game starts," said Remus to Elizabeth, whose red cheeks turned a brighter shade and being directly addressed._

_"It's not that complicated," James said haughtily and Alice rolled her eyes._

_"Please Potter, don't even pretend you weren't confused the first time your parents explained the rules to you," she said while Lily glared at her sworn enemy._

_"Who said I was pretending?" asked James in annoyingly superior voice._

_"You can't be absolutely fantastic at everything Potter," Lily snapped, "No one's perfect."_

_"You are," he said simply and Lily looked slightly startled before becoming highly affronted and turning to face the stadium with a huff._

_"You're such a pigheaded moron!" said Alana angrily, "She obviously doesn't like you so why don't you leave her alone?"_

_"I was giving her a compliment!" cried James indignantly._

_"It's all right James, some women wouldn't know a compliment if it tap-danced naked in front of them," Sirius said, looking pointedly at the older twin._

_"Shut up Black," Alana growled._

_"Bite me."_

_"Shove it."_

_"Piss off Tortelli."_

_"Fuck off Black!"_

_"Oh ho! Look at this lads, the lady curses!" said Sirius mockingly and continued playfully, "I love a fiery woman."_

_"And I hate a man who thinks he's the shit. So I cursed, what are you going to do about it?" Alana asked innocently._

_"Make you want me of course, just like with every other girl here."_

_"The day I want you is the day Hell gets an ice skating rink."_

_"Is there an end to the madness?" Remus asked Liz as the two first years sparred back and forth._

_"Yeah, if Black gets the hint and leaves my sister alone," said Liz with a tiny smile, "But I doubt he'll do that now. He seems to love the thrill of the chase too much. My advice to him is to save his strength because he'll be chasing for a long time with Alana."_

_"You're right about that I'm afraid. So how are you liking your classes?"_

_"Oh, I love them! They're all absolutely fascinating! My favorite is Potions though, how about you?" Liz asked eagerly, a glow in her eyes that Remus hardly ever saw and wished to see more of._

_"They are fascinating, although my favorite is Transfiguration," said Remus, "I can't stand Potions because I'm horrid. You remember how yesterday I singed Slughorn's eyebrows off, right?"_

_"Of course, how could I forget?" Liz laughed until she realized who she was talking with and remembered the train ride. Immediately, her laughter died and she started blushing furiously. Remus saw this and seemed to read her thoughts._

_"Look, about the train ride, please don't be embarrassed by it," he said calmly, "It was an accident and I'm not upset. I'd like to be friends, if that's all right with you."_

_He held out his hand and Liz looked at it. It was covered in scars and she wondered what could've caused them. Shaking her head clear of these thoughts, she grinned widely and shook his hand._

_"I'd like that very much," she said happily._

_Alice was talking with Lily in order to ignore the argument going on between Sirius and Alana. A shadow passed over them and she looked up to see Frank Longbottom, the boy from the train and fellow Gryffindor, sitting with James. He saw Alice and waved awkwardly. She returned the wave with one of her own._

_"Aly, I think he likes you," said Lily quietly with a girlish giggle that hardly ever escaped her lips._

_"Shh, he'll hear us! And no he doesn't, honestly we've only known each other for a few months!"_

_"Whatever you say, but I'm willing to bet that by seventh year you two will be together."_

_"Somehow I doubt that," said Alice with a sigh and saw the team coming out, "Al, quit your bickering! The game's about to start!"_

"Al and Sirius were always at each other's throats," said Alice as she laughed at the memory.

"Between them and Lily and James, there was never a dull moment in the common room," Liz chuckled, "I guess Hell got that ice skating ring, huh? And I believe Lily was right in her prediction."

"Thank Merlin for that!"

The girls laughed heartily as they grabbed seats and ate their breakfast in the spring air. Liz looked out at the field and felt nostalgia fill her up. She knew living with her sister would be a new adventure but she hoped everything would work out all right. It wouldn't be like Hogwarts of course; nothing could compete with the wonder of the castle. However, it would become her home just like this place had and at least she had her sister to share it with. Elizabeth smiled slightly as people filled the stands, getting ready to watch the final showdown of the year. She would miss the excitement of the stands, but she knew there was much more excitement in store for them all.

_Author's Note: Guess what guys? I finished writing the story! It's going to be 23 chapters and an epilogue so we have a little bit to go. There's the Quidditch scene which was fun to write, N.E.W.T madness, and graduation. I'll also be introducing some new characters that will be important in the sequel. Yes guys, I've decided to post it when this is done! Yay! Hopefully you'll check it out. I'll be giving tidbits about it in my ending A/N's so read them if you want to learn about it. ;)_

_Here's a tidbit: the story will be from a girl's POV so we'll get to see more of Hermione's reaction to things. Harry and Ron will be important, obviously, but I thought to make my story different from the series, I'd have more Hermione. The character will be OC and she's a lot of fun. That's all I'm going to say right now._

_On a side note, it seems every time I posted a chapter that had N.E.W.T in it, only the first two letters showed up. Please know that I __do__ know how to spell N.E. and that it was the computer that screwed it up. If anyone wants me to, I'll be more than happy to change it back. No one said anything to me, it was just me looking back for information and I noticed it online. I'm sorry if that bothered anyone and pleae know it was unintentional._

_This is the part where I beg for your thoughts on the chapter. I don't bite, I swear, and neither does the review button so don't be frightened! Your thoughts are always top priority for me so don't be shy!_


	21. Chapter 20

_Author's Note: I solemnly swear that I am not the owner of Harry Potter._

Chapter 20

"GOOD MORNING HOGWARTS!" Remus' magically magnified voice said over the roar of the crowd, "WELCOME TO THE QUIDDITCH FINAL! I'M YOUR ANNOUNCER REMUS LUPIN AND WE'VE GOT A GREAT GAME TODAY. IT'S GRYFFINDOR VERSUS RAVENCLAW!"

The crowd cheered and applauded, some students stomping their feet to make even more noise. The seventh year boys and girls stood on their seats and screamed themselves hoarse. Lily put two fingers in her mouth and let out an earsplitting whistle, the other girls following suit.

"AND HERE COME THE GRYFFINDORS! WE HAVE THE CAPTAIN JAMES POTTER WITH HIS OTHER CHASERS LAUREN CHASE AND BROOKE ANGEL, THE TWO BEATERS ALANA TORTELLI AND SIRIUS BLACK, THE KEEPER RODGER MURPHY, AND THE SEEKER JOAN CURTIS!"

The Gryffindors cheered so loudly that no one could hear Remus announce the Ravenclaw team. Soon, Lily saw the captains walking to each other and shake hands. If looks could kill, the Ravenclaw captain (Who was it again?…Ah yes, she remembered it was Amos' Diggory's little brother Brad) would've been dead the moment he stepped onto the field. James' stare was so intense that it was as if he was trying to burn Brad Diggory alive. Soon, however, everyone was on their side and Madame Hooch released the Quaffle, starting the game.

"AND IT'S CHASE WITH THE QUAFFLE, SHE PASSES IT TO POTTER WHO DODGES A BLUDGER. NICE ROLL PRONGS! OOPS, SORRY PROFESSOR!" said Remus sheepishly after McGonagall chastised him for using James' nickname. "HE THROWS IT TO ANGEL. SHE SHOOTS…AND SCORES! GRYFFINDOR LEADS 10-0."

The game continued like this for some time. Soon the score was 90-70 with Gryffindor still leading. Suddenly, one of the Ravenclaw Beaters slammed a Bludger at Alana and it hit her in the gut. She gasped, the wind knocked out of her, and clung to her broom as she started coughing and struggled to breathe.

"Time out!" James called and Madame Hooch blew the whistle. Instantly, Sirius was helping guide Alana to the ground. In the stands, Elizabeth was shoving people out of the way and she reached the first row next to the field.

"Al, are you all right?" she asked her sister worriedly. Alana just nodded, taking slow deep breaths.

"I'll get that bastard, don't you worry Alana," growled Sirius but she shook her head quickly. She pointed to herself and her eyes were gleaming with mischief.

"Be careful out there you two," said James, "Ravenclaw likes to strike the Beaters down first so they have control of the Bludgers. Joan, anytime you want to catch the Snitch you're more than welcome."

"I'd like to see you try Potter," said the sixth year girl who glared at her captain with blue eyes. Elizabeth wondered if her short blonde hair would start sending off lightning soon, she was so angry. "That damn Seeker keeps cutting me off and throwing me off my game!"

"That's because you think he's cute," said Lauren Chase and she and Brooke Angel started giggling until James shot them a warning look.

"I don't care if he's bloody gorgeous! The sooner we win this game, the sooner we can get the Cup and have that party I'm sure Remus and the others have planned for us," said James, using bribery to help his team. "Al, you ready to play yet?"

"Yeah, I'm all right now," said Al with a smile, "Let's kick some ass!"

"Be careful Alana," said Elizabeth quietly.

"I always am sis. I expect to hear you while I'm out there."

Liz watched her sister take off into the air and went back to her seat. The game got dirtier as time passed. It seemed the Beaters were out for Alana's blood, probably because of when she cornered that Ravenclaw after he insinuated Liz and Lily didn't deserve to be valedictorians. She kept diving and sending Bludgers at the Ravenclaws, but she got hit a few times. Sirius sometimes flew over and help guard her, but she would shoo him away and shout for him to help the other teammates. The Gryffindor Chasers took their revenge out on their Ravenclaw counterparts and Madame Hooch was blowing her whistle every five minutes.

"AND TORTELLI HITS A BLUDGER AT RAVENCLAW'S KEEPER…BUT NOT BEFORE GETTING HIT HERSELF! SHE'S SLIPPED OFF HER BROOM AND IS FALLING…BUT WAIT! JOAN CURTIS IS DIVING FOR THE SNITCH!"

Elizabeth stood up and saw Sirius catch Al before she hit the ground as the slight blonde Seeker rushed by them, tailing a small speck of gold. She reached out her arm, centimeters away…

"AND SHE'S GOT IT! SHE'S GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS 260-100! THEY'VE WON THE QUIDDITCH CUP! GO LIONS!"

Elizabeth screamed as she embraced Lily and they jumped up and down together. Frank was holding Alice as they punched the air and Peter was giving high-fives to the Gryffindors around him. He saw Lindsay a few rows away and she smiled slightly, giving him a thumbs up. He lowered his hand and turned quickly to Frank and Alice.

"GOOD NEWS FOR GRYFFINDOR, THEIR BEATER ALANA TORTELLI IS UP AND MOVING AROUND," Remus announced.

"Come on!" said Liz, grabbing Lily as they made a chain and headed down to the field.

Elizabeth hopped over the barrier and ran out to the middle of the field where the team had Joan Curtis on their shoulders. Alana saw her sister and waved, wincing slightly as Liz ran over.

"Are you all right? Where did they hit you?"

"Same place as the first time," muttered Al, gesturing to her abdomen.

"Let's get you to Madame Pomfrey," said Lily but Alana shook her head.

"I'm fine, let's go to the party," she said and continued when the girl's raised their eyebrows at her, "Honestly, I just need something to drink and I'm good."

"Okay, but no alcohol for you tonight, got it?" Liz said sternly and Al nodded with a laugh, after which she clutched her stomach.

The Gryffindors marched up to the castle and all the way up to the common room. The only three who weren't celebrating were Al, because she was in obvious pain but refused to admit it, and Elizabeth and Lily, because they were watching Alana warily. Once they were in the common room, Al fell into the closest chair and curled up into a ball, closing her eyes. Liz and Lily sat beside her on the floor. Liz looked at her sister and noticed she was very pale and sweating. She placed a hand on her sister's forehead and she felt clammy.

"Al? Alana, what's wrong sis?" she whispered comfortingly.

"I feel…tired and so weak," whispered Alana and Liz noted her sister's breathing was shallow and very quick. Suddenly, Alana leaned over and Liz jumped out of the way just as her sister vomited all over the floor. Elizabeth gasped not because her sister threw up, but because it was bright red.

"All right, we're taking you to Madame Pomfrey right now," said Elizabeth, "Lily, give me a hand here and we'll carry her there."

Lily nodded and they each took an arm. As they walked slowly because of the weight, Alice and Frank came up to them.

"What's wrong with Alana?" Frank asked worriedly.

"She's sick," said Elizabeth, "Listen, tell the others where we are. Find Sirius first and then find the others. I'm sure Sirius would want to be the first to know."

They nodded and went into the crowd as the other two continued their journey. It was long and laborious but the girls finally reached the doors of the Hospital Wing. As soon as they walked in, Madame Pomfrey rushed over and helped the girls get Alana into a bed.

"What's the matter Tortelli?" the matron asked as she looked over the one twin. As soon as she spoke, Alana leaned over and vomited again. "I see," Madame Pomfrey said, cleaning the blood up with a wave of her wand.

"She got hit twice in the same place during the match today," said Lily as Liz stood at the top of her sister's bed and brushed her hair away from her face, "It was in her stomach."

"Did she complain of stomach pain before the match?"

"No, she was perfectly fine," said Liz quietly, "But after the match, it obviously hurt her."

"Hmm," the matron said as she felt along Alana's abdomen. She stopped and put a bit of pressure in one specific area. Instantly, Al let out a groan of pain as reflex tears fell down her face. "Don't worry girls, it's some internal bleeding but it hasn't affected any of her organs. She'll be fine after I do a few spells, she drinks a few potions, and she spends the night here."

"Thank you Madame Pomfrey," said Elizabeth with obvious relief.

The matron muttered under her breath with her wand out and then put pressure on Alana's abdomen again. Alana didn't groan so she smiled with satisfaction and went back to get some potions. Suddenly, the doors of the Hospital Wing burst open and the Marauders with Frank and Alice came running in, Sirius in the lead.

"Hey guys," said Al weakly, not even trying to sit up, "So who are you lovely people here to see?"

"You of course," Sirius said, kneeling beside Al's face with his award-winning smile, "How do you feel?"

"You want the truth or what people usually say?"

"The truth."

"Tired, very weak, and I have this metallic taste in my mouth because I spewed blood everywhere," said Alana, "But otherwise, I feel great."

Sirius chuckled and kissed his girlfriend lightly on the forehead. Soon the matron came back and shooed everyone out, except for Liz because she was family.

"Madame Pomfrey, can't Sirius stay if he wants to?" Liz asked and the matron sighed heavily.

"All right. Black, you can stay if you want but if I find one dungbomb in my office so help me Merlin…" she trailed off menacingly.

"Don't worry Madame Pomfrey," said Sirius with another charming smile, "I only save dungbombs for the professors I don't like."

"I'm sure you do Black," she said with a hint of a smile and left for her office.

"Thanks Liz," said Sirius once everyone was gone and the two of them pulled up chairs beside Al's bed.

"No problem Sirius. I could tell you cared about her, even before the ring," said the twin with a shrug, "The thing about my sister is that she has a very hard time believing someone could love her. She puts up walls and hides behind her sarcasm and fiery temper. The only people she lets see her vulnerable are those she really feels she can trust. You should consider yourself a very lucky man that you have seen her vulnerable. You're the first guy who she's let see her like that; it's usually just her friends and myself that see her vulnerable side."

"And what about you? I remember a time when you had a hard time believing you could be loved," said Sirius and Elizabeth laughed darkly.

"Yes, another thing my sister and I have in common. Well when you're told that no one could love you because you're a freak long enough, you start to believe it. You just need to prove her wrong every day, just like Remus does with me," said Elizabeth, looking at Sirius closely.

"I think I can do that quite easily," Sirius said and Liz leaned back in her chair, a small smile playing across her lips.

"Good because Al needs a guy who can understand her love of mischief and mayhem," said the sister, stretching and yawning, "I'm going to try and get some rest. Night Sirius, and thank you."

"Night Liz and you're very welcome." Sirius watched as Liz's breathing became deeper and more restful before he scooted his chair closer to Alana. "Hey Al," he whispered, running his fingers through her hair lightly, "Get better soon so we can actually celebrate our great victory today. We can't do that when we're missing a Beater."

"Is tha' the only reason you want me better?" a very groggy Alana mumbled as she opened her eyes slightly.

"Only you would wake up after taking a Sleeping Draught," said Sirius with a chuckle, "Oh, and I also want you better so I can have you back by my side. Someone needs to help beat away the many fangirls I happen to have."

"With pleasure," Al muttered with a sleepy smile, "I love you Sirius."

"I love you too Al," he whispered in her ear, "I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

But Alana was already asleep by the time Sirius said this. He sighed and reclined back in his seat. Unseen by Sirius, Elizabeth smiled slightly and shifted her position. It was good to be back to normal, no matter how long it lasted for.

…...

Peter tossed and turned until he finally threw the blankets off of him and sat up in bed. He couldn't sleep, not after the day they had experienced. Winning the Quidditch Cup was one thing, but having Alana rushed to the Hospital Wing only added to the excitement of the day. Everyone was worried about her. Thankfully, she was expected to make a full recovery but the excitement was still left over. Peter ran his hands through his hair and decided to go down to the common room. Perhaps if he lay down on the couch by the fire, he would fall asleep while watching the dying flames.

He rose to his feet, tip-toed to the door, and slipped through without making a sound. Creeping down the stairs, Peter reached the common room to find it not totally abandoned. A figure sat on the couch in front of the fire with shaking shoulders and muffled sobs reached Peter's ears. He made to turn around and head back up the stairs when he tripped over his pant leg and slammed his shin into one of the stairs. He let out a loud string of dirty curses and the crying stopped.

"Who's there?" a quivering voice asked, one that Peter knew well and had tried to forget.

"J-Just me," he said quietly, turning to the figure and seeing Lindsay desperately wiping her eyes.

"Oh…hi Peter," she said, looking away, "Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself?"

"Oh that…yeah I'm fine, don't worry. Um…is everything okay?" he asked tentatively, "I kind of heard you and, well…yeah…"

"Yes, I'm…" She paused and looked up at Peter, her blue eyes piercing and sad. "I was just thinking and remembering. I do miss having your company Peter, but I understand why you left. If I could, I would've done the same thing and left with you, but I can't. You know how they say you don't realize what you had until it's gone? Well they are so right because I never appreciated you until you weren't my friend anymore. I used you horribly because I had to but I didn't realize I would fall in love along the way."

Realizing all she said, Lindsay quickly covered her mouth with her hands and turned bright red. Peter watched all this with wide eyes as he tried to take it all in.

"Oh Merlin! I…I should go now," she whispered and made her way to the girls' staircase. Before she reached, however, Peter had cross the room and was standing in front of the stairs, blocking her way.

"What did you mean you used me because you had to?" he asked, "And why couldn't you do anything before? You have free will; you could've chosen to leave with me."

"I can't," she said to her feet, "They have my parents. If I don't do what they say, they'll…they'll kill them. I was supposed to get to Dumbledore through you, use you to get information. But once I got to know you and saw how kind and thoughtful you were, I couldn't go through with it. I care about you too much to use you like that."

Peter placed a hand under Lindsay's chin and raised her gaze to meet his.

"Did you know I've liked you since I found you in the Great Hall after Christmas?" he asked and Lindsay smiled at the memory, "What if I told you that I could help you get your parents back?"

"What? No Peter, you can't get involved with this," said Lindsay quickly, stepping away, "I won't let you. You have a chance to do some good, to end the war before it truly starts. I won't let you get caught up in the Dark Lord's side."

"I have no intention of joining, only pretending to join and get information," Peter said, "We'll take you to Dumbledore and you can explain your situation. I'll pretend to be back on their side, saying I've seen the error of my ways. Then when I know where they are keeping your parents, I'll have Dumbledore and his supporters capture them. You can go into hiding with them and you'll be safe until the war is over."

"You…You would do that for me? After all I did? Why?"

"Because I fell in love," he said simply, "I would do anything for you. So what do you say Lindsay?"

She looked at her interlocked hands before raising her blue eyes to Peter and grinning. Lindsay ran into his arms and embraced him before planting a light kiss on his cheek.

"Yes, just as long as you're careful," she whispered in his ear.

"Lindsay, I'm a Marauder," said Peter with a chuckle, "We've been playing pranks since the first year and hardly ever get caught. If that's not carefulness, I don't know what is."

Peter led Lindsay to the couch where they sat together and watched the dying embers fade. Finally after Lindsay fell asleep on him, Peter felt himself drifting off, finally able to fall asleep.

_Author's Note: Hello readers! So Lindsay and Peter are together, hooray! What do you think of that relationship? If you don't like it now, I promise you will later…hopefully. It helps explain things so much better, in my opinion at least._

_Another tidbit about my next story: The OC's name is Alexandria but she hates that so everyone calls her Alex. She can do a lot of advanced magic at a young age. Anyone want to hazard a guess whose daughter she is?_ Duskfire1954_ guessed correctly but I'm curious as to what the rest of you think._

_Thank you to my amazing reviewers who continue to follow the story as well as anyone who has me on alert or in their favorites. For those of you that are too shy to review, I encourage you to at least put one word down for me so I know where I stand with my readers. I love interacting with my readers so I'll even send a reply back! :D_


	22. Chapter 21

_Author's Note: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I pretend to._

Chapter 21

It took a lot of explaining and a hell of a lot of persuading from Dumbledore, but finally all of Peter's friends seemed to believe that Lindsay was not as bad of a person as she first led them to believe. Alana was still a little wary, but she was willing to start over so long as the girl didn't give her a reason to curse the living daylights out of her. After spending the night in the Hospital Wing, she was back to her usual self.

The seventh year Gryffindors had a lot more important things on their minds besides Lindsay O'Riley. Now that Quidditch was done for the year and April showers were being replaced by May flowers, they could all focus completely on N.E.W.T studying. The library became a second home as well as the common room. Alana found herself dozing off at random moments throughout the day, something that the teachers didn't appreciate but understood and didn't punish as severely. At least it proved that their students were taking the examinations seriously. When McGonagall voiced this opinion during their last Transfiguration class before the test, Sirius grinned mischievously.

"Oh Minnie, you know I take everything seriously!" he called out before dashing out of the room before McGonagall could deduct points…or through objects at him.

Elizabeth and Lily said they had finished writing their speeches, but would not let anyone else read them except for Remus. Alana desperately wanted to read her sister's, but Liz wasn't budging.

"You'll have to wait for the ceremony," her sister said with an annoying smile.

"But I don't want to wait! You're my sister, don't I get a sneak preview? What's the first word? The last word? Any word?"

"Al, just know that it's extremely well written," said Remus, putting an arm around Liz and smiling.

"Psh, I know it's going to be totally awesome," Alana said with a wave of her hand, "Anything Liz does is amazing. I just want to know what it's about!"

"Patience is a virtue, Alana," said Elizabeth in a sing-song voice.

"Which I don't have whatsoever!"

Elizabeth and Remus laughed and went back to quizzing each other while Alana huffed and dug her nose back into her book. However, it wasn't long before Sirius and James came waltzing over and sat beside them. Al cast them a side-long glance and sighed loudly.

"Why don't you two have books? You're not seriously going to just wing your N.E., are you?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, we're just not going to fret over it like you lot are," said James with a shrug.

"Yeah because if we don't know magic by now, we might as well plan on re-taking our seventh year," Sirius said, "Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind failing my exams so I could spend another year here."

"But then you'd be spending another year with Regulus around you," James pointed out and Sirius shuddered.

"Scratch that. Hey Al, can I borrow your Potions textbook to study from?" Everyone laughed at Sirius as he sat beside his girlfriend and stole the book from her bag, pouring over it.

"Padfoot? NO! I've lost him! He's gone over to the dark side!" James cried out in fake horror.

"Come on James," said Lily, gesturing to the seat next to hers, "Knowing you, you probably need help with Charms. I'll quiz you on it."

"Fine," said James with fake sadness as he slumped over to Lily and sat beside her.

…...

The night before the exams, Elizabeth was pacing back and forth with a textbook in hand. Alana tried to get her sister to relax, but Liz was too nervous. Finally, Al enlisted the help of Remus and the two of them got Elizabeth to sit down for a moment.

"Elizabeth," said Remus soothingly, "You need to calm down, all right? You'll get yourself all worked up and you know this stuff."

"Yeah sis, Remus and I have quizzed you until we turned blue in the face," Alana said, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"But what if I missed something? What if I totally forgot to study for a section? What if I lose my position because I bombed my N.E.?"

"Lizzy, I promise you that you'll be fine," said Al, "Remember how you worried before O.? You studied so hard and passed with flying colors, and it'll be the same this time."

"And you won't lose your position because you will not bomb the tests," added Remus, "Those who bomb tests only do so because they didn't study or understand the material. Believe me Liz, you studied and definitely understand everything. Now you need to rest, okay?"

"Okay," Elizabeth whispered, taking a deep breath, "Thanks guys. What would I do without you two?"

"Just waste away into nothing because of all your worrying," said Alana and her sister chuckled.

"Probably, you're right."

…...

Lily finished re-reading her essay and put her quill down gently, rubbing her tired eyes. She shook out a cramping hand and looked down at her watch. Just two more minutes left; a perfect time to be finished. Lily smiled at the thought of finishing her final N.E.W.T. No more frantic studying on the way to the test, no more long nights reviewing and quizzing, and no more worrying. She was free!

Then suddenly, it was like an anvil was dropped in her stomach. She was free…free of Hogwarts. She had grown up behind these walls, they had made her the young woman she was today. How could she bear to leave? Lily had plans on being an Auror, just like James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, Alice, and Frank. Alana wanted to be a Healer while working for Dumbledore and Elizabeth wanted to be a Curse Breaker. They all would be going their own way, would they ever see each other again?

_Of course we will, silly!_ a voice in her head admonished her, sounding a lot like Alana, _Honestly, we're best friends forever. No matter where we are in the world, we'll still celebrate birthdays, holidays, weddings…_

Lily chuckled at that thought and happened to catch James' eyes. Quickly she looked away, blushing furiously. She thought about Alana and Sirius' plans to get married after they left Hogwarts. They were so young! How could they even think about that yet? Then again, like Al had told them, there was this war coming and no one knew if they would live to see the end of it.

_"Trust me, I said the same thing to Sirius," Alana had said to the girls one night as she fingered the ring with a happily thoughtful expression on her face, "But I have this gut feeling that we're meant to be together, you know? I know how corny that sounds but…I don't know really. I guess…I guess I just know that after all we went through this year, we know how to work things out when the going gets tough."_

Lily sighed as she looked over at Alana. She just finished her test as well and was cracking her knuckles. She caught Lily's eye and gave her a thumbs up sign. Lily grinned and looked at the girl sitting behind Alana. Liz was still bent over her test, tickling the tip of her nose with her quill as she read over her test and occasionally pushing her reading glasses higher up on her nose. Lily chuckled as she remembered this morning as Liz tried to get ready while searching for those elusive glasses.

_"Lily! Al! Alice! I can't find my glasses, have you seen them?"_

_"Hold up, since when do you wear glasses?" Alice asked in confusion._

_"Honestly, I've worn them since first year!" answered Elizabeth as she bent over to look under her bead._

_"She only wears them when she takes tests because she hates them," Alana explained as she came out of the bathroom, "It's only for the period and then she puts them back. Have you tried at the bottom of your trunk Lizzy?"_

_"Of course! What am I going to do? What if I misread the question because I can't see? Curse my imperfect vision!" Elizabeth cried._

_"Are these your glasses?" Lindsay asked suddenly, coming out from behind her bed and holding a worn brown leather glasses case in her hand, "I found them under my bed. I guess when they were on the floor, they got kicked over here."_

_"Thank you!" said Elizabeth, taking the case and going into the bathroom. _

_Al gave Lindsay a nod of appreciation just as her sister returned. The glasses were large with a metal bar running across the top. Alice giggled and Alana stomped on her foot, throwing her a warning glare._

_"I know they're dorky, but it's the only way I can read the test," said Liz with a sigh, "I can read far away but once you get too close, the words start to blend together and it takes me a while to figure the words out. With a test like this, I don't have time to figure it out and I can't afford to make a mistake so, sadly, I have to wear the dork glasses."_

_"They're not that bad," said Al and Liz threw her sister a raised eyebrow look of disbelief, "Really, they could be those ugly thick-lens things that Margaret Bulstrode has to wear. Talk about nerdy!"_

_Liz smiled slightly and followed the others out of the dormitory and to breakfast, glasses still on her face._

Lily watched as the other twin finished checking and stretched, her back cracking. She looked at Lily and smiled kindly, a smile that Lily returned. Alice was in front of Lily and turned around in her chair to crack her own back, giving Lily a wink as she faced forward again. Lily continued her search around the room and saw Remus with his eyes closed, leaning back in his chair with his quill on top of a finished test. The full moon had been two days ago and Lily knew how tired Remus must be. However, he seemed to be doing fine with his tests and had refused Dumbledore's offer of taking some of his examinations at a different time.

_"Out in the real world, they won't make exceptions for me so I should get used to it now," said Remus with a heavy sigh as he rubbed his aching joints._

Lily wondered what would happen to her friend outside Hogwarts. She knew that werewolves were ostracized and treated like sub-humans, but surely that would change? Remus had proven he was just as capable, actually even more so, as everyone else. He was graduating as salutatorian from a very prestigious school of magic and had proven over and over again he had a heart of gold. Lily decided that if Remus ever had trouble finding a job, she would help him in any way she could.

She then turned her bright green eyes over to Peter and Lindsay who were next to each other. Peter was still writing while Lindsay watched him with a loving expression in her eyes. The new girl had apologized for her behavior during the half of the year and Peter really seemed to like her. Lily trusted Peter's judgment and hoped Lindsay wasn't deceiving him. However, looking at the girl's face, Lily had a feeling that wasn't a possibility.

Movement caught Lily's eyes and she looked to see Sirius and James moving their hands to each other. As Lily watched, she couldn't help but smile. They were using sign language to talk to each other. She looked at Alana and the dark haired girl rolled her eyes jokingly.

"Quills down!" the moderator said, a woman in her mid-forties with graying auburn hair. She held out her arms and their papers zoomed into her arms. "Thank you and enjoy the rest of your day."

James and Sirius leapt to their feet, stood on their desks, and held their wands aloft. Sparks erupted from the ends of their wands and sparklers began writing, "CONGRATS EVERYONE! WE'RE DONE!" Everyone cheered and applauded as the boys jumped off the desks and went to their friends who were standing off to the side.

"You two are the biggest goofs I've ever met!" said Alana with a laugh as Sirius slipped an arm around her waist easily.

"Ah, but I'm the bigger goof because you wouldn't love me any other way," Sirius said and Al just pecked him on the cheek.

"You know Padfoot, I do believe we need a great prank to end the school year, don't you agree?" James asked as they walked to the grounds.

"Oh no!" the girls groaned together, except for Lindsay who looked slightly confused.

"Is it bad when they start planning pranks?" she asked Elizabeth, who nodded.

"Oh yes, you haven't had to deal with them since they calmed down for N.E.W.T studying. Now that that's over, all hell will break loose," Liz said.

"My dear Prongs, I couldn't agree with you more," said Sirius, ignoring the girls interruptions, "What do you say my Marauders and friends? Do you want to be remembered by generations of Hogwarts students?"

"I think I'll pass," said Frank and the girls nodded, "After all, you're the original pranksters. You four should be remembered, not us."

"And I want to be remembered for my brains, not for a prank pulled," said Elizabeth.

"And I want to be remembered for my dashing good looks," Al added, causing the others to laugh heartily as she flipped her hair flamboyantly.

"Then men, come! We must go and plan!" said James and Sirius joined his friend as the two of them marched away. Peter followed at a normal gait while Remus looked back at the others.

"Save me, please!" he whined jokingly.

"Go on Moony," Elizabeth laughed with a wink, "As a Marauder, you have your duties."

Remus gave a large fake-sigh and ran after his friends. The remaining Gryffindors found a patch of shade under a tree and talked about their exams and what their friends would plan. Lily couldn't help but laugh heartily as they talked about the upcoming prank. Somehow, she knew it was going to be wild, crazy, and she would absolutely love it.

Suddenly, hands closed around Lily's eyes and she gasped before laughing and crying, "James!" She heard James' laughter as he lifted his hands from her eyes and knelt down beside her, planting a kiss on her cheek.

"I take it you all have finished plotting?" Elizabeth asked with an arched eyebrow as the rest of the Marauders joined them.

"We have indeed," replied Sirius, lounging beside Alana, "And don't even bother trying to ask what it is we have in mind. It's top secret Marauder business."

"Oh great, we're doomed!" said Alana sarcastically and everyone broke into laughter. Suddenly, Elizabeth raised her wand and looked thoughtful. Seconds later, a black object flew out of a castle window and into her outstretched hand. It was her camera she got for Christmas.

"It's picture time!" she said joyfully, "I have to have one of all of us after exams, to prove that we survived. Everyone get together!"

"You get in the shot," said Lindsay to Elizabeth, "I'll take it this time, go on! You have all these pictures but are hardly ever in them."

"What about you?" Liz asked.

"I'll get in later. I'll grab a first year or something, but you guys go first," Lindsay replied and Elizabeth handed her camera over. Lindsay waited until everyone had their hair ready and looked through the lens.

On the far left was Lily leaning against James as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He placed a kiss on the top of her head and she giggled, leaning into him more. Next to James was Sirius, acting like the goof he was by tickling Alana. She squirmed around and tried to move away from him, but was afraid of bumping into her sister. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the antics of her sister and sister's boyfriend as Remus put his arm around her waist shyly. She gave him an encouraging smile and his face lighted up at the sight. Next to Remus was Alice, whose arm was moving back and forth as Frank held her hand and swinging it. He twirled her around once and dipped her, causing Alice to let out a shriek of surprise and Frank to laugh loudly. Peter didn't have a partner so he decided to lie down in front of the group, cracking jokes while they waited for Lindsay to get the focus right.

"All right everyone, look here and smile. I'm taking the picture on three!" she called and everyone immediately turned to face her, genuine smiles on their faces.

"You'll be in the next one, right Lindsay?" Peter asked hopefully and she chuckled.

"Only if you all want me, I'd hate to ruin such a beautiful shot," she said jokingly. Everyone exclaimed their wishes to have her in the shot and her smile grew. "Okay then, on three. One…two…three! Say Chocolate Frogs!"

"Chocolate Frogs!" they all cried out together.

_CLICK!_ Lindsay took the shot and gave them all a thumbs up. She couldn't wait to see how it turned out. She had a feeling it would look great.

"All right, let me find that first year," said Lindsay and everyone nodded eagerly. _So this is what it's like to have friends,_ she thought contentedly as she grabbed a first year Ravenclaw and ran to stand next to Peter. The two of them sat on the grass in front of the others and grinned broadly.

_CLICK!_ Another memory was made and Lindsay was glad it was a good one this time.

_Author's Note: Yay, another chapter done! Did you like it? Dislike it? Either way, you can still review. I love CC so feel free to say what's on your mind. However, be warned that all flames will be used to fuel the common room fires._

_Another tidbit for my fans: Alex will be Alana's daughter so congrats to those who guessed correctly on that! The picture taken in this chapter as well as the locket Alana has will be very important so don't forget about them._

_Thank you to my loyal reviewers and those who have me on their favorites or story alert. Those who have put me on alert or in their favorites and haven't reviewed, I would love to hear from you. Please review and I'll be updating later this week!_


	23. Chapter 22

_Author's Note: J.K who? No, you must be mistaken. I, silvermoony77, wrote the Harry Potter series. Wait, that was just in my dreams? Never mind…_

Chapter 22

"Elizabeth, where's my beauty book? Did you borrow it?"

"No Alice, that was Alana! Jeez, you think you'd be able to tell the difference by now!"

"Sorry Aly, I just needed the curling iron spell," said Alana, poking her head out of the bathroom and throwing the book at her friend.

Alana looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing black dress robes with scarlet red lining on the inside, just like all the other Gryffindors graduating that day. As the end of May breeze brushed across her face, Alana pushed her freshly curled hair behind her ear and touched up her make-up.

After N.E.W.T testing, the seventh years still had to go to class but most teachers spent the week and a half giving them advice about life after Hogwarts. Some teachers let the students do whatever and only a small percent (mainly McGonagall) continued to teach. During that time, Alana made sure to enjoy every moment with her friends. She and Elizabeth had finalized the details and signed the contract on their apartment. They told their parents they were moving out and they had a surprise for them as well. The Tortelli's were moving to America, Montana to be exact, in order to pursue Mr. Tortelli's lifelong dream: to raise horses. Alana was shocked to say the least, but hoped they would be happy because they obviously weren't happy in England. Therefore, because they were "packing" and "preparing for their move", Alana and Elizabeth's parents said they could not come to their graduation.

_Figures, they never supported us all these years. Why would they support us now?_ Al thought with a sigh as she began pinning some of her hair back.

However, their step-grandmother and an old family friend were coming in place of their parents so Alana and Elizabeth didn't mind. In fact, Al was excited to see her step-grandmother and Elian Montgomery. Elian lived in Ireland but went to school in America. He was an apprentice to a worker at the Ministry of Magic's Magical Games and Sports Department in England. Alana was a bit jealous that Elian got to travel to three different countries before he turned nineteen, but he had promised to take her and Elizabeth to his home in Ireland one day.

Once Alana finished with her hair and make-up, she left the bathroom and sat on her bed, looking around to make sure she was all packed up. Tomorrow morning, they would take the train to King's Cross for the last time. Al stood up and looked under her bed. As she rose from her crouched position, she noticed a book corner protruding from in between the mattress and the box spring. Recognizing the book, she quickly pulled it out and hugged it to her chest. How could she have almost forgotten her diary? It had everything written down for every day she had been at Hogwarts. Alana was very good about remembering to write everything that happened each day. She always wanted to remember her time at Hogwarts.

"Alana, are you ready?" Alice asked. Alana placed her diary in her trunk, closed it with a click, and looked around her room. Tonight would be her last night sleeping here. She would miss the soft mattress, the clean linens, the thick red curtains, even the cold flagstone floors that woke her up more than any amount of coffee.

"Yeah," she said with a huge sigh and small smile, "I think I finally am."

Elizabeth held out her hand and Al took it, following her friends down the spiral staircase and into the common room where all the seventh years were waiting. The other years were given the day off but were told to wait in their dormitories until the prefects came for them. They would spend the day inside but if they wanted to see the ceremony, they could look out the window. However, Alana doubted they would. The younger students didn't really care and the older students didn't want to be reminded that they would soon be leaving Hogwarts as well.

At the bottom of the girls' staircase, the Marauders and Frank waited patiently. Alana ran into Sirius' arms and embraced him tightly.

"You look lovely," he whispered.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she replied and took his outstretched arm, "Are you ready Sirius?"

He turned to look at her with his stormy grey eyes. He seemed to know Alana wasn't just talking about being ready for the ceremony. Sirius let out a long breath and shrugged.

"I don't think anyone's ever ready to leave their home," he said and Alana nodded, "But I am ready for life's next adventures."

"Me too," said Alana. The portrait hole opened and everyone fell deadly silent as McGonagall entered. She looked around at the frightened seventh years and Alana had a feeling she was remembering seeing them all as frightened first years.

"They're waiting for you," she said simply, just like she had seven years ago. Alana squeezed Sirius' hand and they walked out of the portrait hole together.

…...

"Good afternoon everyone," said Remus into the small horn that was attached onto the podium that made his voice magically magnified. Instantly the crowd fell silent. "If you could all find your seats, we would like to begin the ceremony."

He watched people scurry around to find their chairs. Looking up at the clear blue sky, he took a calming breath. Elizabeth's words flowed through his mind.

_"You're speech is beautiful, Remus. Speak slowly so they can hear it," she had said when he finished reading it aloud to her._

_"You're sure?"_

_"Absolutely positive," she replied with a light kiss on his lips, "Whenever I get nervous, I just take a deep breath and look past the people."_

Remus looked beyond the crowd of people sitting on white lawn chairs and saw his class in two single-file lines. He could see the twins and one gave a small wave while the other waved more wildly. Smiling, Remus looked to see everyone was quietly seated and took another deep breath.

"Welcome to the graduation ceremony of the Class of 1978. My name is Remus Lupin and I am this year's salutatorian," he said, making it a point to speak slowly and clearly, "For those of you who have never attended Hogwarts, you unfortunately cannot fathom the love its students have for this place. It is not only the place we go to in order to learn magic, it is our home. Our classmates are not just our friends, they are our family. Yes, there are times when we do not get along and old rivalries get in the way, but that makes us even more of a family. Families have their quarrels and sibling rivalries but in the end, we are all bound by the relationships we have formed here.

"There is no use hiding it or ignoring it: there is a war coming. Not admitting it is ridiculous and unrealistic. We cannot ignore the fact that people are dying every day because of a leader who hides behind an army of masked followers. As our class goes out into the real world, I would like to remind everyone of the school motto printed on our crest. Under the four House symbols, it reads _Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandius_. For those of you who do not know Latin, it translates as "Never tickle a sleeping dragon"."

There were chuckles in the crowd and even Remus managed a smile. He waited for silence before continuing.

"It seems a strange motto, or at least that is what I first thought when I translated it," said Remus, "However, as I thought about it, it makes perfect sense. Dragons tend to be temperamental creatures, so why would you want to wake one up? For fun? My friends and I are known as the most notorious pranksters and let me tell you, none of us would get within fifty feet of a sleeping dragon, let alone tickle it in order to wake it. That would be asking for trouble and would be a very dangerous thing to do." There were a few snickers and Remus waited for silence before continuing.

"Now I know some of you must be thinking that when I talk about dragons and the war, I am talking about those who call themselves Death Eaters. However, I believe we are the dragons. For years, people of different backgrounds have been living in semi-peace and things were going along smoothly. Then one man decides that he does not like how things have been run and wants a change. We were the sleeping dragons until we were woken up and now they must deal with our reaction.

"I know not everyone here agrees with my views on the war and I am not trying to convert anyone," said Remus, "But I would like to remind my classmates that we _are_ a family. No matter what side you are on, you will always be a part of Hogwarts and Hogwarts will always be a part of you. This school has strived to teach us to look past our differences and see each other for who we really are. Because of this philosophy, I have made some of the closest friends I have ever had. They have seen me at my highest and my lowest points and they like me for all of me. I am truly grateful for them. Together, this school is its own dragon and once we step outside these doors, we _will_ be awoken and I am sure it will not be a simple tickle, but a blaring alarm. The world will have to deal with our reaction, no matter which side we chose to support. Hogwarts has protected us for the past seven years while we slept, but now we will be awoken. Our diplomas show that we learned something while we were here. It is up to you all how you want to use that knowledge." Everyone was silent, taking in Remus' words.

"I would now like to present my classmates, the Class of 1978, as well as our Headmaster, Professor Albus Dumbledore. Thank you."

Remus stepped away from the podium as the crowd applauded and Dumbledore rose from his seat. He shook Remus' hand and gave him a wink before Remus joined his class as they filed into their seats. He sat between Elizabeth and Lily and waited for Dumbledore to speak.

"Thank you Remus Lupin for that insightful and truthful speech," the Headmaster said and Remus smiled modestly, "When I look out into this crowd, I see opportunities. Like Mr. Lupin said, it is up to you how you want to use what you learned here in the world outside these walls. My deepest wish is that you are happy with your decision and can live with yourself afterwards.

"When I call your name, please come up on the stage to receive your diploma. Parents, family members, and friends, feel free to applaud as loud as you want when the person you are here to see has their name called."

Dumbledore began reading names and Sirius was the first one to go up of the group. When he walked across the stage, Alana let out an ear-shattering whistle while Remus and other friends started up a chant of "Padfoot!". Sirius grinned and held his diploma aloft as he ran down the stairs to his seat. After more names, Lily's name was called and as James watched his girlfriend walk across the stage, her red hair catching the sunlight perfectly, he knew she would always be his girl. She caught James' eye and waved as she walked down the stage with her diploma held tightly in her hand. There was a long break for the Marauders and friends as they waited for Alice to be called up. When her name was announced, she accepted her diploma with a huge smile. Dumbledore whispered a few words to her and she nodded, her eyes becoming full but in a happy way. Frank was next so he had to wait until he received his diploma before talking with Alice.

"What did he say to you Alice?" he whispered gently as Alice wiped her eyes.

"He said he was proud of my courage after the attack and that I'm a true Gryffindor," said Alice and Frank held her tightly.

Remus was a few names after Frank and as he walked across the stage, his friends cheered loudly. He chuckled while shaking his head as he shook the Headmaster's hand.

"Congratulations Remus," said Dumbledore, "You have proven yourself over and over again. Remember you will always have a home here at Hogwarts."

"Thank you sir," Remus replied, feeling a lump rise in his throat but swallowed hard.

"And remember too that you are not the monster, it is those who treat others as sub-humans that are the true monsters of the world."

Remus nodded and walked down the stairs to join his friends again. More names were said until Lindsay was called up. Peter clapped loudly and gave her hand a light squeeze when she returned. Soon it was his turn to shake Dumbledore's wrinkled hand and receive his verification that he did indeed get the grades to graduate.

"Good luck Peter, and remember that you have your own special talents. Do not think that you are any less of a man because you struggled for your grades," Dumbledore said to Peter, who nodded and returned to his seat.

James was called after a few names and laughed heartily at the whistles and chants he heard. Even Dumbledore chuckled when he approached the older man.

"Well James, I can honestly say I have never had a student who has made the years fly as fast as these last seven have," said the Headmaster, "And I expect to be invited to the wedding."

"W-Wedding?" James stuttered and unconsciously looked out in the crowd at Lily. She beamed at him and he felt his stomach flip. "Sir, how do you know…?"

"I have my ways," Dumbledore said mysteriously, "I wish you all the best wishes in the world."

James just nodded dumbly and continued his walk across the stage and to his seat. When he sat down, Lily looked at him curiously.

"What were you and Dumbledore talking about?" she asked and noticed James was unable to meet her gaze and turned slightly red.

"Nothing, just telling me not to party too hard tonight," he said but Lily wasn't convinced. She would investigate the matter later.

Alana sat next to her sister, gripping her hand tightly in her own. This was it; they were finally graduating! She caught her sister's eye and Elizabeth smiled nervously.

"Al, promise me something," she said as Snape received his diploma and walked to his seat.

"Sure Liz, anything."

"Promise me that no matter where we are in the world, we'll stay as close as we are now," Liz whispered, tears falling down her face.

"Of course Elizabeth, I promise with my whole heart," said Alana, holding her sister in her arms, "Every birthday, holiday, wedding, and random weekend I will make sure I'm there. Don't worry Lizzy, you can't get rid of me that easily."

Liz laughed into her sister's shoulder and wiped her eyes. Looking at her twin, who was practically identical to her in every physical way, she said, "I love you Alana."

"I love you too Elizabeth," she replied just as Dumbledore called out her name. "Well, duty calls!"

Alana rose to her feet and walked across the stage to where Dumbledore was waiting. She shook his hand and he held it for a moment.

"Alana, you are the most loyal Gryffindor I have ever met," the older man said, "You and your sister are lucky to have each other and never, _never_ take it for granted."

"I know sir, I am extremely blessed to have Liz in my life," Alana said and Dumbledore smiled, releasing her hand.

When Elizabeth reached Dumbledore, he shook her hand and held it for a moment as well before saying, "Elizabeth, you have so many gifts. I hope you realize how lucky you truly are."

"I do Professor Dumbledore," said Elizabeth earnestly, "I've enjoyed an amazing education here at Hogwarts and I've made friends that I will never have to worry about leaving me. I'm also extremely blessed to have Alana in my life."

"That's the same thing you sister said about you," Dumbledore chuckled, "It is refreshing to see a sibling relationship where the siblings are as close as you two are. I hope you will always remain this way."

"I really think we will, sir," said Liz with a grin as Dumbledore let her hand go and she walked to her chair. Minutes later, Elizabeth was on her feet again with Lily by her side and the two of them went to the podium. It was time for their speeches.

_Author's Note: I'm curious to know what you thought of Remus' speech so please review and tell me how I did. I've never really written a speech before so CC is appreciated, since I have to do two more in the next chapter._

_The tidbit for this update is Elian Montgomery. He plays a large role in the next story and you'll see more of him next chapter. Hopefully you'll like him!_

_Thank you to my reviewers as well as those who have me on alert and in their favorites. I really do appreciate it all. Please take the time to send me a review because I do actually read them! For all those who are going to the midnight premiere tonight, have lots of fun! I"m going tomorrow after school so don't tell me anything in your review! :D_


	24. Chapter 23

_Author's Note: I am not the owner of Harry Potter, but I like to pretend I do!_

Chapter 23

"Let's give the Class of 1978 one more round of applause," said Lily. The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, James and Sirius leading. The redhead grinned and waited for silence before continuing. "Like my dear classmate and friend Remus said before, Hogwarts is our home. Leaving this place is a lot like leaving home for the first time seven years ago. We were frightened that we would not fit in or that we would not like the subjects or that we would have a horrible teacher. For me, not having heard of magic before coming to Hogwarts, I was terrified that the entire thing was a joke my sister Petunia made up. However, as you can probably tell, we have survived and this is not a joke made up by my sister.

"Fitting in, of course, was hard at first but the Sorting Hat helped us out. We were placed in a House with people like us and we felt more comfortable being ourselves because our Housemates could accept us for who we were. As for not liking the subjects and getting horrible teachers, we all had that one subject we dreaded going to but our teachers are the best in all of England. Without them, we would have no idea how to use magic and would probably be still blowing things up because we were unable to control our magic. Therefore, I would like to take this time to thank every professor here with us today. Professors, we have a little something for you all in order to express our gratitude."

Lily paused for a moment and re-read the parchment in front of her. In James' handwriting was an addition and she looked at her boyfriend. He gave her a wink and nodded for her to continue.

"Um…I would like to present James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew who wish to say a few words and give you _their_ gifts first."

There was a hesitant applause from the audience as Lily stood aside and watched the Marauders step up to the podium. She looked at Elizabeth, who looked just as shocked as she felt, but the twin just shrugged as if to say, "Just go along with it."

"Thanks Lily for the beginning of that lovely speech," said Sirius, "It was really quite charming."

"Well, she's a charming witch so it makes sense," James said, as if he was talking to a two-year-old.

"I'm going to stop you now James before you make a fool out of yourself," said Remus and Peter chuckled as his friend continued, "Professors, we know that we haven't made these last seven years easy for you. We've pranked every single one of you and most of the student body, as well as caused you to give us an unimaginable amount of detentions."

"You may have thought we didn't feel bad, but we do," Peter said, "So we want to make it up to you."

"Under your chairs, you will find a card with a tiny metal charm," Sirius said with a huge grin, "Tap that charm with your wand and it will turn into the life-size object it depicts."

"We hope that it makes up for the hell we've put you through," said James, "Now I would like to re-introduce Lily Evans, our first of two valedictorians."

Lily stared in amazement as the boys walked calmly off the stage and to their seats. She looked at the teachers and saw them tapping their wands to the charms. Instantly, each teacher had a picture frame in their hands. From where she was, Lily could see it was a picture of the four Marauders that Liz had taken the day they had spent outside after their final exam. Professor Slughorn, unfortunately, opened his card and dropped it in alarm as four very off-key male voices were singing loudly. Lily didn't recognize the song and assumed it was from a Wizarding band. Suddenly, all the cards were magically opened and the voices grew louder. Once the final note was screamed, there was a slight pause.

"Thank you for putting up with us!" the four Marauders' voices said together before breaking out into laughter that faded away.

"Um, well…all right then," said Lily, recovering quickly, "Thank you boys for that, er…_lively _entertainment. As I was saying, the Class of 1978 wanted to thank all the professors for the work they have done. Professors, when you return to your office today, you will find your gift on your desk and I promise it doesn't sing. Everyone will find their gift, except for Professor Dumbledore. Sir, if you could come up to the stage, we would like to present your gift now."

Lily saw the older man chuckle lightly as he rose to his feet. Elizabeth waved her wand and four long and thin boxes appeared out of thin air, each one wrapped in the colors of the House it came from.

"For those of you who do not know, my parents were killed last year in an accident," said Lily, "Professor, you were there for me the entire way and I remember spending hours in your office. During one of those sessions, you happened to mention that everyone thought you wanted books for Christmas but that was not what you wanted at all. You told me all you wanted was a pair of wool socks. Well Professor Dumbledore, now you have four pairs."

Everyone laughed and Dumbledore had a bright twinkle in his eyes as he took the boxes from Elizabeth. He bowed slightly to Lily and winked before returning to his seat. Lily turned back to the crowd.

"I would now like to introduce my fellow valedictorian, Elizabeth Tortelli, who will be giving the valedictory address."

Liz smiled nervously as she placed her hands on the podium and looked out beyond the crowd. She took a deep breath and smiled softly.

"A wise man once told me that it is our choices that make us who we are, far more than our abilities," she said and nodded to Dumbledore, "Everyday we are faced with choices, some more important than others. There are the easy ones like what to wear for school, what to have for breakfast, or when should I do my homework. Then there are the harder choices. What side will I chose? Will I fight for repression or freedom? For the past seven years, we have been protected against making those tough decisions. Hogwarts has been a haven from the outside world, but it cannot protect us forever. Even now, the outside world breaks through the barriers Hogwarts puts up through death of loved ones. Hearing about or experiencing the loss of a loved one reminds us daily that there _is_ a war and it is very close.

"I have been fortunate. I have not experienced death first hand. My grandparents are still living and my parents haven't been murdered, nor has my sister. I know that I have been sheltered and very soon, that shelter will crumble and fall. But, like Remus told us, we have a family here at Hogwarts who will help us through the rough times. I have experienced familial support through my sister and I can tell you it is the greatest feeling in the world to know someone always has your back. I can always count on her to be there for me and help me when I need her. She is my rock and I am hers. This year has been hard for the both of us, but we pulled through with the help of each other. Even my friends provide the same amount of support that my sister does.

"Therefore, I would like to ask you to look around. See the faces of your fellow classmates and don't look at how they are different from you. We may belong to different Houses and different backgrounds, but we are all human and that is what binds us together. We have our past experiences together, our memories, our laughs and struggles. All these things bind us together. Some of you may not want to admit it, but we are _all_ bound together by our time at Hogwarts. And you know, as this war comes, it's nice to know we all have at least someone we can truly rely on. So remember who you are and where you came from. Remember you are a part of Hogwarts and it will always, _always_ be a part of you."

There was a moment of silence after Liz's speech and she started fretting. Had she screwed up completely? But then Alana stood up and started clapping, and the rest of the audience followed suit. Lily came up and hugged Elizabeth and the two of them went to their seats. As the crowd applauded, the students filed out of their seats and back up to the castle. There was going to be a party in the Great Hall with the family and friends until seven and then the students would have the rest of the night to party in their common rooms. Liz began searching for her sister until she was attacked from behind by a pair of lean arms.

"Lizzy, that was beautiful!" Alana cried, turning her sister around to face her, "Come here my little egg-head!"

"Al, I don't think she can breathe," Sirius laughed, Remus chuckling behind him. Alana loosened her grip on her sister and wrapped her arms around her sister and Sirius' shoulders.

"Shall we head to the party then?" Remus asked, coming along the other side of Elizabeth and holding her hand in his.

"Yes, I want you all to meet Elian and our step-grandmother!" said Al and the four of them walked into the Great Hall where they found the others.

"_There_ you four are!" Alice cried, "We thought we lost you back there."

Just then, family and friends began entering the Great Hall. Alana stood on the tips of her toes until she saw an older woman on the arm of a young man with auburn hair.

"ELIAN!" Alana shouted and the young man turned his green-grey eyes towards her. Grinning from ear to ear, he said something to the older woman and led her over to them.

"Come here my little angels!" the old woman said and Liz and Alana embraced her tightly, but with tenderness so as not to hurt the woman. She was short, just barely five feet tall, with short white curly hair that sat like a poof on the top of her head. She was wearing bright pink lipstick and black robes. Behind thick glasses were two bright blue eyes that were slightly foggy because of cataracts.

"Grandma Rose, we're so glad you could come," said Elizabeth, her voice full of love for the elderly woman in her arms.

"I would never miss your graduation!" the woman said, "Oh look at these fine young ladies before me. I can remember when you were my height!"

"So they must've been babies," the young man said with a grin. His accent was strange, James noted. It was a combination of the posh English, Irish brogue, and American slang.

"Oh you bad boy!" the grandmother said, slapping the younger man on the arm lightly, "And who are these lovely young people behind you angels?"

"These are our friends we've told you about," said Alana and pointed to each as she said their name, "This is Lily Evans, Alice Lenns, Lindsay O'Riley, and Frank Longbottom. These four boys are the Marauders. That's James Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Remus Lupin, and Sirius Black. Everyone, this is Grandma Rose and our good friend Elian Montgomery."

Their friends smiled politely and said hello. Grandma Rose's eyes lingered on Remus and Sirius, looking them over carefully. The two boys stood their awkwardly, waiting for the sentence to be passed. Finally, the old woman turned back to the girls.

"I approve," she said simply. Both twins had identical grins on their faces as they each looked at their boyfriend.

"So _you're_ the Marauders?" Elian said conversationally, "Is it true that you blew up all the Slytherin toilets in your second year?"

"That and much more, I assure you," James said proudly until Lily elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a warning look.

"I admit that I used some of your pranks while I was in school," said Elian sheepishly, "Al or Liz would write about them in their letters and I had to see if they actually worked. Might I suggest using Krazy Krieg's Dungbomb's instead of Zonko's? They are much more effective when causing a huge scene instead of just a subtle smell."

"So you're a fellow prankster? Excellent!" said Sirius, shaking Elian's hand enthusiastically.

"We've created a monster," Elizabeth said to Alice and Frank, who laughed heartily.

All afternoon, the seventh year Gryffindors talked with each other as well as the family of their friends that came. Mr. Lenns spent the evening talking with Mrs. Longbottom (Mrs. Lenns and Mr. Longbottom had both passed away before their children went to Hogwarts) while Peter's mother and father kept Grandma Rose company while they discussed the latest article in _Transfiguration Today_. Lily, James, Sirius, and Lindsay had no one coming but they didn't seem to mind. They were enjoying their time with their other friends and Elian. Alana was happy to see her friend getting along with the others so well.

Finally it was time for the family and friends to leave. Lily, James, Sirius, and Lindsay talked amongst themselves while the others said good-bye to their relatives. Alana and Elizabeth took turns hugging their step-grandmother and friend.

"Promise us you both will come visit us at the apartment," said Alana as she hugged Grandma Rose.

"We will, don't you worry. Is everything ready for you when you go home tomorrow?"

"Yes Grandma Rose," said Liz, "David wrote to us the other day and said everything was in place."

"What a kind young man that David Ratcliff is!" the older woman said.

"Of course he's being kind, I would too if I had these two as tenants," Elian said with a wink at the twins, "You know Al, I think he has the hots for you."

"I'm a taken woman now Elian. He better not get any ideas or I'll break the Wizarding law about doing magic in front of Muggles," said Al with raised eyebrows.

The twins waved to Grandma Rose and Elian as the two figures walked to the Hogsmede gates in order to apparate home. The ten Gryffindors were the last to leave and as they headed up the stairs in the Entrance Hall, Dumbledore happened to be behind them.

"Good evening Professor Dumbledore," said Lily with a smile.

"Good evening Miss Evans. Might I ask all of you to join me in my office for a moment? It will not be long and you will soon be off to your parties."

They all agreed and followed the Headmaster to his office. Once they were all seated on the other side of his desk, Dumbledore put his long fingers together and looked at each student carefully.

"As mentioned numerous times today, there is a war coming," he said with a sigh, "Am I right in believing you all want to help end it?"

"Yes sir!" they all cried out eagerly.

"I thought as much. I am willing to make you an offer, but I implore you to give it much thought before making a decision," Dumbledore said gravely, "This offer is extremely dangerous and it is quite possible you will die. I would like to ask all of you to join the Order of the Phoenix.

"The Order of the Phoenix is an organization that works to fight Voldemort and his so-called Death Eaters. Our mission is to prevent Voldemort from killing Muggle and Wizarding families alike, and to spread awareness of his power. By joining this order, you will put your life in great peril. I must stress the importance of this because you must not make this decision lightly. Take as long as you need to think about it, all right?"

"Yes sir," they all said quietly. Remus knew his answer, but promised himself to at least sleep on it before telling Dumbledore. They all were dismissed and walked quietly back to their common room. Along the way, Sirius was the first to speak.

"So…how many of you are willing?" he asked. Everyone raised their hands instantly and he grinned. "Excellent! I was afraid I was the only one who didn't have any second thoughts."

"So shall we tell him tomorrow before we leave?" Remus asked and they all agreed.

As they walked back to the common room, Lily glanced at James. He was staring off into space and not paying attention to where he was going. She noticed he was about to run into a wall and quickly grabbed the hem of his robes to stop him.

"James, what's the matter with you?" she asked as the others continued on ahead, not noticing their two friends were lagging behind.

"Nothing Lily, I'm fine," said James with a charismatic grin, but Lily scowled at him so he looked away guiltily.

"What were you and Dumbledore talking about on the stage earlier?" she asked and James shoved his hands in his pockets.

"He was just wishing me luck," James said. He wasn't technically lying. However, Lily's interrogation wasn't over yet.

"Then why did you look so embarrassed?" she pressed, "And when I asked you what happened, you wouldn't give me a straight answer."

"It's…private," he said slowly. Lily huffed in annoyance and started walking faster. "Lily, come on Lily!" James called after her, catching up in a few long strides.

"I can tell when someone's giving me bullshit, James!" she snapped.

"Fine, I'll tell you!" cried James, raising his hands in annoyance, "He wanted to tell me he wanted to be invited to our bloody wedding!"

Lily stopped walking and turned to face James, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. If James wasn't so nervous, he would've found her reaction comical.

"Wedding?" she whispered, "James, are you…what I mean is, is this…?"

"I wanted to ask you a different time," James said as he removed a hand from his robe pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box, "You know, on a day that didn't really have sentimental value so we could make it special. Plus I know you're not the hugest fan of clichés but, well…I think this is the moment people talk about, you know?" He got down on one knee and opened the box to reveal a simple, but absolutely gorgeous, diamond ring. "So Miss Lily Evans, will you marry me?"

She continued to stare at the ring with the same look of shock on her face. James' insides started squirming uncomfortably. Would it be like asking her out all over again? Would he have to ask multiple times until she finally said yes? Because he would do it, just so long as she was finally his.

"I…" she croaked and cleared her throat, "This seems so fast. I mean, we've been dating for less than a year. However, we've known each other for seven so that accounts for something I guess. You're not doing this because you know the war is coming, right?"

"I would've asked you to marry me with or without a war," said James, shifting his weight slightly. Who knew just how uncomfortable the Hogwarts floors really were? "I love you Lily, you know I do. I've loved you for a long time."

"I love you too James," she whispered as tears fell down her cheeks and a smile spread across her face, "Yes, yes James! I'll marry you!"

"Thank Merlin, my knee was killing me," he joked as he rose to his feet and slipped the ring on her finger. It fit perfectly.

"It's beautiful," said Lily in awe. He chuckled and pulled her close, kissing the top of her head lightly.

"Just like you, dear," he said and Lily laughed, slapping his arm lightly.

"I thought you knew how I felt about clichés," Lily said, "Come on, now I have to show off my ring. It looks like Al's not the only one who has a wedding coming up in the future."

James held out his arm and Lily took it, letting him lead her to the common room as she smiled until her face hurt. When they entered the Gryffindor common room, they found their friends waving at them.

"We thought we lost you two," said Alice, "What were you…oh! Oh, oh, oh!"

"What's wrong Aly?" said Al and Liz together as their friend gestured wildly at Lily. Lindsay gasped and started stumbling over her words while the guys looked confused, as well as the twins.

"What the bloody hell are you two goggling at?" Al said. Suddenly, Liz let out a cry and started pointing at a more specific area of Lily, who seemed to be enjoying her friends' reaction. "Great, I lost my sister now," said Alana with a sigh, "Let's play charades. Sounds like…?"

"Bring," said James with a chuckle. Sirius, Remus, and Frank caught on and their eyes widened.

"You did it?" asked Sirius and James nodded, "About time mate! What were you waiting for, next Christmas?"

"I don't get it!" cried Peter in annoyance. Lindsay let out an annoyed sigh and kept pointing.

"Look, it's obvious we don't know what the bloody…OH MY MERLIN! Lily's engaged!" Alana screamed and tackled Lily.

"We know that we're young," said James since Lily was busy being attacked by her friends, "But with the war coming, like Sirius said, we don't know how much time we have."

"Let's not think about serious stuff like that now," said Elizabeth , releasing her hold on Lily, "Tonight, let's celebrate and have fun. The future's tomorrow; let's worry about that then."

"Aw, I love to talk about Sirius stuff!" said Sirius, causing groans and laughs alike as they walked out onto the area people were calling the dance floor and swayed to the music.

Remus looked at his friends and his heart never felt lighter. Peter was swing-dancing with Lindsay as she laughed at Peter saving himself from tripping. Peter looked embarrassed until she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and he grinned. Frank and Alice were swaying in each other's arms, Alice looking completely worry-free while Frank's eyes were full of love. James was leading Lily in a kind of tango dance, Lily laughing loudly and heartily while James was trying unsuccessfully to be serious about the dance. Eventually he broke into laughter as well, Lily's diamond ring sparkling in the light of the fire. Sirius swirled Alana around and proceeded to pick her up in his arms wedding style. Alana shrieked in surprise but then kissed him on the mouth.

"Remus, what are you thinking about?"

He looked down at Elizabeth, _his_ Elizabeth. She looked stunning with her long black hair half up and half down, some of it falling in her face from all the dancing. Her dark eyes were dancing in the firelight as well as with happiness and, his heart fluttered as he recognized it, love. Remus smiled gently and kissed her lightly, putting his forehead to hers.

"How lucky I am to have you all, especially you," he whispered in her ear, "I don't know what I would have done if I had never met you all."

"Grown up to be a miserable old man," said Elizabeth jokingly but then looked serious, "Remus, I love you so much. You know that, right?"

"Of course Elizabeth, I love you too."

She grinned and laid her head on his chest, the two of them swaying to the music. Remus sighed contentedly. He would always remember this day; this was the happiest day of his life. They all had so much to look forward to.

_Author's Note: What a nice, upbeat end to a chapter! Warning, the epilogue is full of angst so this is kind of making up for that. However, I think it's my best chapter so I hope you all enjoy it. I saw the Harry Potter movie yesterday night and it was absolutely amazing! If you want to talk about it with me, feel free to put it in a review or PM me. Also, while you're doing that, I'd love to know what you thought of the chapter. This will be the second to last time I'll be asking for this! :(_

_This will be my final tidbit for you since the epilogue is pretty much one big one: David Ratcliff is not just some random person I threw in there. That's all I'll say for now…any predictions?_

_Thank you to my totally awesome reviewers and those who have me on alert and in their favorites. Your support means the world to me and I really do appreciate it all. You guys really are the best! :D_


	25. Epilogue

_Author's Note: For the final time in this story, I do not own Harry Potter. That honor belongs solely to J.K. Rowling. Thanks to her, I was able to create this story. I would like to dedicate this chapter to my lovely and dear sister on her birthday. Em, I know it's not the most uplifting chapter but it's my final birthday gift to you. Happy 16__th__ Birthday! Enjoy this chapter everyone!_

Epilogue

The bitter November air was biting into any exposed skin of Remus Lupin, but he didn't feel it. All he could feel was the pain in his chest as he stared at the four headstones in front of him. They were gone, forever. Never would he hear their laughter, never again would he see their faces. They were only memories now. However, there were three names that were not on a headstone: one because he was locked away and two because they were suffering a fate worse than death.

A year ago, Alice and Frank were on a mission for Dumbledore when they were raided by Death Eaters. The mission had been compromised. Bellatrix Lestrange was there and tried to get information out of them. They refused to give in so she tortured them into insanity. Their son, Neville, was only a few months old and lived with his father's mother now since Mr. Lenns had died a few weeks earlier of a heart attack. Both Alice and Frank were in St. Mungo's in the permanent living quarters. Sometimes Remus thought it would've been better if they had died like the names of those before him.

_Lindsay O'Riley: October 24, 1960- February 28, 1979._ Remus still remembered Peter's reaction when James and Sirius told him. First the Death Eaters murdered her parents and then they came for her. James and Sirius had put her in a safety home with two armed Aurors. The Death Eaters burned the house down so quickly that no one could escape. At first, Peter was in denial but he soon realized they wouldn't lie to him about that.

_"No…NO! Oh Merlin, it can't be true! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO PROTECT HER! You said she was bloody safe!" Peter shouted._

_"She was with the two best Aurors in the entire department," said James soothingly, "There was nothing they could do. The blaze took to the house too quickly. I'm sorry mate, I really am."_

_Peter just fell into the couch and stared at the blazing fire, tears streaming down his face silently. It wasn't until after the service that he spoke to James or Sirius again._

Ever since then, Peter hadn't been the same. He was much quieter and more prone to angry outbursts than before. Lindsay had always kept him calm when he got upset but without her, he was like a ticking time bomb.

_That's probably why he went after Sirius,_ Remus thought as he looked at the name beside Lindsay's. _Peter Pettigrew: September 11, 1960- November 1, 1981._ He knew there was nothing in the coffin six feet under because there was nothing left of his friend. The only piece they found that was recognizable was his forefinger, which the Ministry gave to his mother along with an Order of Merlin First Class, as if that would help her get over losing her only child and husband in a two month span.

_James Potter: March 27, 1960- October 31, 1981. Lily Potter: January 30, 1960- October 31, 1981._ He was still in shock about that day. October 31st, Halloween. A day of fun and a few laughs that turned into a quadruple murder. Lily and James had gone into hiding a few months before when Dumbledore told them Voldemort had been searching for them. Using the Fidelius Charm, they had gone back to the village James grew up in and hid with their son, Harry. Sirius was their Secret Keeper. When Dumbledore said the Death Eaters were after Alana as well, the two were more than willing to have Al and David join them with their daughter, Alexandria.

_They shouldn't have trusted him! He wasn't right after Alana broke up with him!_ Remus thought bitterly as he looked to the right of the Potters grave.

_Alana Tortelli: November 21, 1960- October 31, 1981. David Ratcliff: May 18, 1958-October 31, 1981._ Why Alana wanted her maiden name on her tombstone, Remus didn't know. It was in her will and Remus was going to respect his friend's last wishes. Still, he would have thought that she would want to use the name of the husband that lay beside her below the hard ground.

Yes, Alana had married her landlord David Ratcliff. Remus was still unsure of what happened because he had been away on business for the Order while it all happened. What he did know was Alana and Sirius continued dating after Hogwarts. One day, she broke up with him and announced she was getting engaged to David. It was a huge shock to everyone, except for Elizabeth of course. She probably knew everything as it occurred.

Remus remembered going to the wedding. It was in a huge church with many guests and the total opposite of what he had expected of Alana. Then again, he had always thought she would marry Sirius and not her Muggle landlord. David had known she was a witch before he proposed and was fine with it. Remus had met David before the wedding and found him to be a very nice man with a heart of gold. He had been the same height as Alana with blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. Sure he was handsome, but he really didn't seem to be Alana's type. Remus remembered mentioning this to Elizabeth one day.

_"I know he's not like Sirius, but that's what she really needed," Liz had said as they sat on the couch together one evening after going out for dinner, "It wasn't working out between them."_

_"They seemed so much in love though."_

_"Before you left, yeah they were. However, things change in six months," said Elizabeth quietly._

_Remus paused before asking tentatively, "Do you still feel the same way for me?"_

_"Of course I do Remus!" she said immediately and with a tiny smile, "I'll always love you."_

Tears filled his hazel eyes as he turned to the final gravestone. _Elizabeth Tortelli: November 21, 1960- October 31, 1981._ How could he have let her slip through his fingers? The Aurors had come to his house the night of the Potters and Ratcliffs death and he knew something was wrong. Kingsley Shacklebolt was the one who plucked up the courage to tell him the story. He told Remus how four of his friends died at the hand of Voldemort, how one had betrayed the others and another friend tried to confront him but died, and how his fiancée was attacked by that monster.

The only thing Remus could remember was being unable to breathe. He then found himself waking up in Dumbledore's office at Hogwarts. The Headmaster tried to calm him down, but Remus could not be soothed.

_"THEY LEFT ME!" he screamed, "All of them, they're all gone!"_

_"Remus, you must not let grief consume you," said Dumbledore softly but sternly, "None of your friends would want you to spend your life grieving."_

_"How could Sirius do that? They were his friends! He loved Alana for Merlin's sake!"_

_"No, what he felt for Alana was not true love, it was obsession. And that was his downfall. If he truly loved her, he would have let her go without wanting revenge. Remus, I know you are upset but please believe me that it will get easier as time passes. Time __will__ heal these wounds. You must be strong, if not for you then for those around you who are grieving."_

Yes, there were many others who were grieving but even more were rejoicing. Voldemort was supposedly dead, killed by his own curse. Baby Harry Potter, barely a year old, had defeated the darkest wizard since Grindelwald without lifting a finger. Rumor was that the spell just bounced right off his forehead. No one knew where Harry was now, except Dumbledore but he was not talking. As for baby Alexandria, no one knew about her at all. Remus was the only one left alive, besides Dumbledore and a few of his closest confidents, who knew the Ratcliff's were staying with the Potters that night. Remus had asked to take Alex, but Dumbledore said she was already with her closest relatives in America: her grandparents. Remus was shocked and angered, arguing that Alana hated her parents. How could he have sent her there? He would never see her again if she was in America!

_"She will be safe there from any remaining dark wizards who may know of her existence," said Dumbledore calmly._

_"The Tortelli's treated Al and Elizabeth horribly! How can you expect them to treat their granddaughter differently?"_

_"They will find it in their hearts to learn to love," the old man said simply and Remus laughed bitterly._

_"They have no hearts," he spat, "How could they ignore their daughters' own funerals?" Remus fell into a chair and put a hand over his face, weeping quietly. "When does the pain die?" he asked woefully as the tears fell harder._

_"In time, Remus. Only time will heal your wounds." said Dumbledore, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder as his own tears were caught in his long white beard._

Remus wasn't sure he wanted the wounds to heal because as time passed, he would forget the little details. Their laugh, their smiles, their voices…but did he really want to remember? He pulled out a worn photograph from his pocket and held it in his shaking hands tightly as the wind threatened to blow it away. It was the picture Lindsay had taken after their N.E.W.T tests. There they all were, laughing joyfully and without a care in the world.

He took a shuddering breath before falling to his knees and crying, shoving the picture into his pocket so it would not become wet with his tears. How could he continue on without them? Without his Elizabeth? It wasn't fair! Life had been cruel to him before Hogwarts and he thought he finally had a chance at a normal life. He used to have great friends and was going to get married!

_If there's a God, why does He enjoy screwing my life?_ Remus thought desperately as sobs racked his frame.

_She wouldn't want you to live like this, Remus,_ another voice said in the back of his mind, _Elizabeth would want you to go on living._

Remus stopped his crying and looked at the grave of his fiancée. It was true; she had always wanted the best for him and constantly told him she wanted him to be happy. And, he realized as he wiped his face on his sleeve before the water froze to his face, if Elizabeth had to die it was better that she did the same day as her sister. Liz probably never knew that Alana was dead before she died too. It was better that way; Liz would have taken the news of her sister's death horribly. This way, she didn't not have to suffer from a grieving heart.

Remus rose to his feet and waved his wand. Two bouquets of white daisies were placed in front of Lindsay and Peter's graves, two of white lilies were placed in front of James and Lily's graves, and two of white roses were placed in front of Alana and David's graves. He stared at the cold stone where Elizabeth's name was carved and waved his wand again. A single red rose appeared and he placed it on top of the frigid curved stone.

As he stared at the graves, Remus knew he could never come back here. He wanted to remember his friends when they were alive, not imagining them rotting in a wood box six feet under his shoes. Remembering the past would hurt of course, but it was the only way to keep the spirit of his dearest companions alive. Remembering the past would help Remus get through the day. Remembering the past would allow Remus to tell their tale, the tale of the Marauders. With a shuddering breath that caused mist to cloud in front of him, the young man who had aged years over the past few days brought a hand to his lips and placed it on the top of Elizabeth Tortelli's grave.

"I'll never forget you," he whispered and turned around, walking away.

_Author's Note:_

_Dear Readers,_

_What a fun ride this has been for me! I hope you all have felt the same way. If you remember me saying in my first A/N, this was my first ever fanfiction that I wrote long before I knew these sites actually existed. Being able to publish it for you all and receiving the praise from my fans has truly made me the happiest person in the world. That is why I would like to take this time to thank my most faithful reviewers:_ Lone Fairytale, Duskfire1954, _and_ madscientist128._ You three have been absolutely amazing and I'd like to thank you first. I'd like to also thank_ WisdomEyes, Amy aka Luke, Rue-the-Marauder _and_ arisasira_ for their reviews as well. All of you make my day when you review._

_Now to talk about the sequel to this, which I know some of you have been eagerly awaiting…hopefully. I have to make a few slight changes but I hope to have the first chapter up by next week or at least once Thanksgiving is over. Don't worry for those of you who don't have me on author alert because I'll be telling you when I post it after this chapter in an Author's Note. It will be slightly AU, as you could probably tell by this epilogue, but will follow the stories. For the first two, it will be almost exactly but as time passes, it will start to turn away a little bit. I, however, do not take the dialogue straight from the book so hopefully it'll still be interesting and fun to read._

_Finally, I'd like to send a huge shout-out to my little sister on her 16__th__ birthday. Em, hope you enjoyed today and that you liked your final birthday gift. Love you hun!_

_Well, that's about it really. I think this A/N is long enough, don't you? Again, thank you all from the bottom of my heart and I hope you do realize how much I love and appreciate your support. You're what keep me going with my stories! Please take the time for a final review and if you have any further questions, feel free to PM me. Thank you!_

_With love,_

_silvermoony77_


	26. It's Finally Here

It's Finally Here...

Dear Readers,

It's finally here, the moment you've been waiting for! I am excited and proud to present the sequel to _Remembering the Past: A Marauder's Tale_. It is posted on my profile page now and it is called _Living for the Moment: Book 1_. This book will follow Alex's first year at Hogwarts, Book 2 will follow her second year, etc.

I just want to say a few words about the story. The beginning books are completely in cannon with a few minor changes. However, like I mentioned before, I do not take exact dialogue from the books except for my favorite lines. I want to ask you all to please be patient because I solemnly swear that it does get better. Everything I put in the story is important, I promise. Also, Book 1 is not very long and I plan on posting about every other day so it won't take too long to get through. I really hope you all enjoy it as much as you have enjoyed this story.

Finally, I have to put in a plug for my sister, missdavinci77. She's writing a Marauder era fic called _My Generation_. Please check it out because, although I am slightly biased, she's a fantastic writer and the story sounds like it's going to be great. Thank you!

All right, that's all I have to say. Please visit my profile and start reading the story. Don't forget to review as well! Thanks to all my fans out there and enjoy the upcoming holiday season!

With love,

silvermoony77


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